Coalition Urges Congress to Reject Anti-Net Neutrality Bill

Today, New America’s Open Technology Institute (OTI) joined 49 consumer advocate and technology organizations in a letter urging Congress to reject a harmful bill that the House of Representatives plans to vote on later this week. The legislation, H.R. 2666, would make it practically impossible for the Federal Communications Commission to enforce the 2015 Open Internet Order. The letter, sent to Speaker Paul Ryan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, outlines the many ways the legislation would harm consumers and small businesses by undermining the FCC’s ability to:

• Review monopoly charges and other unjust and unreasonable business practices;
  
• Give consumers more control over their online privacy;
  
• Enforce merger conditions that create discounts for low-income Americans;
  
• Address the harmful effects of data caps and zero-rating plans;
  
• Protect consumers and online businesses from interconnection-related congestion.
  

The following statement can be attributed to Joshua Stager, policy counsel for New America’s Open Technology Institute:

“H.R. 2666 is an overbroad and dangerous bill that would make it practically impossible for the FCC to enforce the net neutrality rules that millions of Americans asked for in 2015. The bill goes far beyond its stated purpose, threatening the Internet economy and the jobs and investment that rely on it. We urge Congress to reject this bill.”