San Francisco’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Municipal Fiber Releases Net Neutrality Report

In June 2017, the city of San Francisco announced a Blue Ribbon Panel on Municipal Fiber to inform the city’s approach in building a public, open access broadband network. OTI is pleased to have served on the panel, leading recommendations for the Subcommittee on Privacy and Governance.

Today, that Subcommittee released its first report, A Network for All of San Francisco: Net Neutrality, Digital Privacy & Local Control. The report recommends that the city protect free expression on its network through strong net neutrality, broadband privacy, and network security rules. The report also recommends implementing strong transparency reporting requirements on law enforcement requests for data, and creating a process for engaging the community on how to further govern the network.

The following quote is attributable to Eric Null, Policy Counsel at New America’s Open Technology Institute:

“At a time when the federal government has abdicated its responsibility to protect internet users, it is vitally important for city governments to engage. San Francisco is leading the way by building a network with strong net neutrality, privacy, and security requirements baked into its design. We commend the city for undertaking this project and look forward to seeing the network flourish.”