14 DAY TRIAL // Advocacy groups are asking Google to end its affiliation with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which has been busy pushing state laws that seek to limit people’s rights to create community-owned broadband networks and who opposed net neutrality.
The fact that Google is affiliated with ALEC didn’t stand in the way of the company expressing its support for net neutrality, but even so, it doesn’t shine a very nice light over the company.
Common Cause and all the other advocacy group wrote a letter to Google saying that over the past year, hundreds of thousands of Americans have signed petitions asking the Internet giant to end its ALEC membership because of their concerns about the harmful role the organization has.
“The public knows that the ALEC operation—which brings state legislators and corporate lobbyists behind closed doors to discuss proposed legislation and share lavish dinners—threatens our democracy. The public is asking Google to stop participating in this scheme,” reads the letter.
Not only has ALEC expressed its opposition to net neutrality and taken action that would make the application of the concept impossible due to local laws, but it has also sent a support letter to the FCC in which it calls for the quick approval of Comcast’s merger with Time Warner Cable, without imposing any conditions.
Microsoft has already terminated its affiliation with ALEC due to concerns over the organization’s extreme views. “That extreme agenda include denying climate change, defunding public services, curtailing labor rights and opposing net neutrality,” the letter reads.
Common Cause claims that during recent meetings in Dallas, ALEC officers and corporate lobbyists have been taking training to teach legislators how to block legislation that encourages clean energy solutions.
Google’s spokesperson refused to comment on the letter and said that the company would be keeping quiet for the time being. Even if the company does eventually stop collaborating with ALEC, it will first have to weight in all options before making a decision and expressing its views publicly.
On the other hand, despite ALEC’s view on most things, Google may have a good reason to stick around. By being a member of the organization, not only does Google pay annual fees, but it can also sit on task forces where they can propose, debate and vote on model bills with legislators. It might, in this situation, manage to temper down some of the extreme attitudes in ALEC.
Even so, it’s probably a good idea for Google to take a step back before its name gets dragged in the dirt by this group and its views.