Co-authored by U.S. Senators Brian Schatz and Cory Booker
An open letter to Ajit Pai, Chairman of the United States Federal Communications Commission.
Dear Chairman Pai,
We are writing to express our opposition to your effort to repeal net neutrality protections.
Fifty years after the internet’s creation, 3 billion individuals across the globe now use it to engage in all aspects of society.
Why has the internet worked so well? Because it’s a level playing field. Through a free and open internet, an excellent idea or an individual can beat a powerful established institution. A scrappy student can challenge the status quo and come up with an innovation to change the world.
Almost any citizen with an internet connection can be heard across the globe and drive millions toward change.
But we need rules to make sure that in the battle of content – of music, of ideas, of games, of apps – it is a fair fight, and that winners and losers are determined by the quality of the content and nothing else.
Indeed, before the Open Internet Order took effect, companies discriminated against certain types of content by blocking it completely or slowing down access, therefore preventing users from accessing the content of their choice.
The FCC adopted the Open Internet Order to protect user access to all the Internet has to offer; not just the parts internet service providers own or want their customers to see.
During this rulemaking process, the FCC heard from the public that these new rules were the right approach. Nearly four million comments were submitted to the FCC, the largest number of comments on any proceeding.
Our committee and the American public are again paying close attention. The public does not accept Republicans taking away their rights online in the name of corporate profit. Just a few weeks ago, Republicans underestimated the public’s outrage at the successful repeal of privacy protections for users online.
Like with the Republican repeal of the FCC’s online privacy rules, there is little public support for your actions. Following an onslaught of public furor, congressional Republicans regretted voting to repeal online privacy protection for the public. We believe that public uproar was just a preview of what you can expect as you initiate a proceeding to eliminate net neutrality protections.
In your speech to announce the end of net neutrality, you said “this is a fight that we intend to wage and it is a fight that we are going to win.” We commit to opposing you and fighting for strong rules that protect users and access to a free and open internet.
Sincerely,
Brian Schatz
U.S. Senator
Cory Booker
U.S. Senator