Net Neutrality Advocates Testify At House Hearing

File Under: News, Telecommunications

Mar 11, 2008

The following statement can be attributed to Ed Black, President & CEO of the Computer and Communications Industry Association:

This Judiciary Committee Anti-Trust Task Force hearing on net neutrality and freedom of speech is welcome given recent examples of questionable network management practices by cable operators and telecom companies.

Protecting the current free market access to Web sites, content, applications and services must be the highest priority – as that is why the Internet has grown and that is why it is such a value today.

Last year Congress recognized the inherent value of the Internet with Republicans and Democrats coming together to pass an Internet tax moratorium. Let’s continue to protect the freedom of the Internet, which is driving sectors of growth in the economy and leading to more innovation.

To subject the Internet to discriminatory traffic management practices could mildly boost profits for a few major telecommunication carriers, but it would be unwise to do so without understanding the potential loss to innovation by smaller players and the U.S. economy as a whole.

That’s why we support maintaining the current climate of non discrimination on the Internet and light rules like Chairman Markey’s bill that would ensure neutral broadband access – at least until widespread broadband access competition makes net neutrality rules less critical.