In an attempt to save the individual’s right to a private and an open internet environment, the Internet Association which consists of Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Lyft, Netflix, Pinterest, Reddit, Spotify, Twitter, Uber and many more, has stood up against the FCC’s (The Federal Communications Commission) decision to roll back the existing net neutrality laws that were established during the Obama administration in 2015.
“IA continues its vigorous support of the FCC’s Open Internet Order, which is a vital component of the free and open internet”
“The internet industry is uniform in its belief that net neutrality preserves the consumer experience, competition, and innovation online. In other words, existing net neutrality rules should be enforced and kept intact.”, the IA told Ajit Pai, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission in a meeting on Tuesday, a week after Pai shared the shocking news.
This meeting was set up in response to the recent dismantling of internet privacy laws, firstly, when President Donald Trump approved a bill that allows internet service providers to sell their clients’ browsing data without their consent. Secondly, when Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) discussed overturning the 2015 net neutrality law from being mandatory to voluntary in which companies like Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, etc., would voluntarily agree not to tamper with internet speed or block any access to legal web content. Click here to read more about Ajit Pai’s net neutrality rollback.
Last Friday, Chris Lewis, vice president of consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge responded in a backlash to Pai’s net neutrality decisions by saying “Chairman Pai is preparing to give dominant cable and telecommunications companies what their DC lobbyists have dreamed of for years: voluntary net neutrality ‘rules,’ where consumer protection is no more than ‘trust your cable or internet provider,”.
The Internet Association have made it very clear that they will not yield to any law that would undermine the following points:
- Paid Prioritization (purposely increasing internet speed to companies in return for certain fees and accordingly slowing down speeds for those who don’t.)
- ISP’s restricting any access to any web content or device that is legal and does not cause any harm.
- Internet equality, that is acceptance of all lawful data traffic regardless of web content, class, services or even applications.
- Shifting net neutrality enforcement from FCC to FTC.
The organisation has also shown its full support to the currently implemented net neutrality law, which goes by the name “Title II of the US Federal Communications Act”.
