14 DAY TRIAL // The tech industry has had enough with the FCC’s hesitating stance on the net neutrality issue and companies have united forces and have written an open letter to the Commission.
A huge list of companies has signed the letter, starting with Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, Dropbox, eBay, Kickstarter, Netflix, Tumblr, Yahoo, Twitter, Reddit, and Zynga among the frontrunners.
The full list has nearly 150 companies, and includes BitTorrent, Digg, DuckDuckGo, GitHub, Imgur, Mozilla, OpenDNS, and Instapaper, to name just a few.
In the letter, they’re demanding that FCC impose net neutrality rules and not allow ISPs to create an Internet fast lane, which would damage everything that’s been built in the past couple of decades.
“We write to express our support for a free and open internet. Over the past twenty years, American innovators have created countless Internet-based applications, content offerings, and services that are used around the world,” the letter starts off.
“These innovations have created enormous value for Internet users, fueled economic growth, and made our Internet companies global leaders. The innovation we have seen to date happened in a world without discrimination. An open Internet has also been a platform for free speech and opportunity for billions of users.”
In a sugarcoating move, the companies mention that the FCC and its commitment to protect the open Internet are the main reasons that the Internet continues to be an engine for entrepreneurs and economic growth.
Even so, the letter continues by mentioning the recent news reports according to which the Commission intends to propose a new set of rules that would enable phone and cable Internet service providers to discriminate, both technically and financially, against Internet companies and impose tolls for access to a fast lane.
The FCC hasn’t outright denied its plans so far, but it has come out and defended the measures, saying that it will not kill net neutrality. Even so, the fact remains – the Commission hasn’t debunked any of the rumors.
“Instead of permitting individualized bargaining and discrimination, the Commission’s rules should protect users and Internet companies on both fixed and mobile platforms against blocking, discrimination, and paid prioritization, and should make the market for Internet services more transparent. The rules should provide certainty to all market participants and keep the costs of regulation low,” the letter reads.
Such rules are deemed essential for the future of the Internet and the FCC should take this into account.
The fact that so many Internet companies have joined forces should trump any lobbying done by ISPs.