Washington — As of today, the agency Congress created to oversee communications networks will no longer ban broadband internet service providers from slowing, blocking or discriminating against internet content. The FCC voted late last year to abdicate its role in protecting net neutrality. The internet has historically had these rules, but the largest ISPs have fought them as part of their plans to charge more and leverage their power.
CCIA joined with Internet users, consumers groups and the many businesses that rely on the internet to challenged the issue in court after the FCC chairman issued the order — despite the millions of public comments asking him not to do it.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association, which has fought to preserve open non-discriminatory internet access for more than two decades, filed a petition to intervene in the net neutrality case, which is now before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. CCIA has intervened in this action because many of our members and their users and customers will be affected by the FCC’s latest order that would abdicate its role in enforcing nondiscrimination rules on the internet. The following can be attributed to CCIA President & CEO Ed Black:
“Today is important for consumers and businesses to recognize that the federal government has left largely them on their own. Their ISP can speed up some internet traffic for a fee, leaving others in relatively slow lanes. We fully expect that in the short term the big ISPs will hold off on implementing major discriminatory changes in hopes of convincing Congress and others that rules are not necessary. However, the fact remains that now almost nothing stands in the way of the big ISPs trying to warp the open Internet into a more expensive, pay for service cable-like model.
“For the sake of so many smaller businesses and future startups, we hope the court will decide that the agency Congress created to protect consumers’ access to communications can’t just abdicate its responsibility for ensuring fair and open internet access.”
For media inquiries, please contact Heather Greenfield hgreenfield@ccianet.org
