Activists plan net neutrality protest
Companies, organizations and individuals are participating in a “day of action” Wednesday to urge the Federal Communications Commission and Congress to preserve regulations adopted in 2015 to limit Internet service providers’ ability to favor certain websites or apps.
The protests come as the commission is looking to roll back the regulations known as net neutrality. Currently, the FCC can require Internet service providers like Comcast,
AT&T and Verizon to treat all Web traffic flowing over their networks equally. A provider that slows or blocks content from a competitor or prioritizes apps and websites paying a fee would violate the rules.
In an April speech, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai called for a return to treating the Internet as an information service, not a public utility, a distinction that would limit the FCC’s ability to regulate it. And in May, the FCC voted to review its net neutrality rules, a step toward rescinding them.
“You can absolutely be for net neutrality, which we are, but against using outdated utility regulation to do it,” David Watson, president and CEO of Comcast Cable, wrote in April.
In a move that confounds some net neutrality supporters, AT&T is joining in the Wednesday protest, stating in a blog post that it supports the idea of an open Internet — just not the 2015 rules.
The day of action is organized by a coalition of activist groups that have pushed for net neutrality for years. Those participating will post Web banners, send email and use social media to urge people to submit comments to the FCC, which is collecting a first round of feedback on the rule until July 17.
The campaign is also encouraging individuals to visit local congressional offices, said Evan Greer, campaign director for the nonprofit Fight for the Future. “We see this as a broader fight, a grassroots movement we’re building to show that the Internet as an institution has its own political power,” she said.
Some in favor of the FCC’s move argue that the Federal Trade Commission should have the authority to regulate Internet service providers, not the FCC. Other net neutrality opponents believe the FCC should only extend its authority over Internet service providers if a serious problem emerges, which they argue has not yet happened.
The current policy is “just unwise and really unjustified, and especially because the commission didn’t make a finding of a market failure before it imposed this more stringent form of regulation,” said Randolph May, president of the Free State Foundation, a nonprofit think tank.
One of the arguments for keeping net neutrality is that prioritizing companies that pay for an Internet “fast lane” would make it harder for emerging companies. “Our cities depend on a thriving startup community to drive innovation and our continued economic growth,” San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and 30 other mayors across the country wrote in a letter to Pai. The city of San Francisco will place banners on its websites as part of the campaign.
Facebook, Netflix and Amazon are participating in the day of action along with a host of other companies, some of which are taking quirky approaches. The Mozilla Foundation is posting a nine-hour video of comments to the FCC read in a soothing voice, said vice president of advocacy Ashley Boyd.
Sonic, a Santa Rosa Internet service provider which serves the Bay Area and Los Angeles, will distribute buttons at a BART station in San Francisco.
“Regulation is a topic that’s difficult to get consumers interested in,” said Sonic CEO Dane Jasper, “but people really like the Internet.” San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Dominic Fracassa contributed to this report.