Yesterday, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Ajit Pai announced that in the FCC’s upcoming 14 December meeting they will vote to remove the Title II classification of Internet service providers.
As we outlined in our Policy Brief on Network Neutrality, the core principles of choice and transparency are fundamental to a free and open Internet that benefits users around the world. Simply put, users should be able to access the Internet content and services they choose without corporate or government interference.
Now is not the time to give up on these goals. Regardless of the action the FCC takes in the coming weeks, the Internet Society will continue to fight alongside allies around the world for our fundamental goal – to ensure an open Internet, characterized by access, choice and transparency for all users around the world.
Thus, we believe that strong rules are still needed – merely focusing on transparency is not enough to protect users’ access to an Open Internet.
We hope that the U.S. government can take a more sustainable approach to net neutrality; one that upholds the principles that are rooted in the Internet Society’s core values of a global and open Internet. Between seemingly endless court battles and the fact that FCC regulations can change from one US Presidential administration to another, it is clear that we need to try something different. Americans need clarity in this debate.
The future of the open Internet is in each of our hands. To #shapetomorrow we need to work together to find new ways to ensure an open Internet is available for everyone.
Image credit: Blaise Alleyne on Flickr CC BY 2.0