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Tuesday, April 25, 2006 9:25 PM

Net Neutrality

 

Hinchey, Future of American Media Caucus Members Urge

House Telecom Leaders To Approve Legislation

Safeguarding Free & Open Access To All Internet Sites

 

House Energy & Commerce Committee To Debate Net Neutrality Tomorrow

 

 

 

Washington, DC -- Concerned about proposed legislation that could

limit the public's access to all Internet content, Congressman Maurice

Hinchey (D-NY) and members of the Future of American Media (FAM)

Caucus today called on House telecommunications leaders to strengthen

the net neutrality provisions in the Communications Opportunity,

Promotion, and Enhancement (COPE) Act so that large Internet service

providers cannot exert influence over the speed and availability of

Internet content. The House Energy & Commerce Committee is set to

consider the COPE Act this week and finalize the measure before

sending it to the full House for a vote.

 

" As members of the Future of American Media Caucus, we believe that

net neutrality should be a benchmark of the strength of American

democracy, " Hinchey and five of his FAM Caucus colleagues wrote to

House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) and

Ranking Member John Dingell (D-MI). " Any attempt to limit information

access on a pay-for-play basis is antithetical to the goal for which

the Internet was initially created: to supply content from all sources

without discrimination. Our country cannot afford to allow media

giants to assume control over what information citizens view online.

We must protect net neutrality principles. "

 

 

Hinchey and his colleagues expressed their concern that the COPE Act

would cede control of Internet content to major telecommunications

companies. In its current form, the COPE Act would allow Internet

service providers to charge content providers to deliver their

services to Internet rs. Since some smaller companies and

individuals would be severely burdened by these fees, large media

conglomerates would receive unfair advantages. Content owned by

larger providers would be delivered faster, putting an end to the free

and open nature of Internet as it is today.

 

The FAM Caucus is composed of House Members who believe in an

accountable, diverse, fair, and independent media. The Caucus, which

currently has 20 Members, is open to Members of both parties and it

neither supports nor opposes any particular industry stakeholder. The

FAM Caucus' goal is to educate Members and staff about media issues

before Congress and to ensure that all parties - especially the

American public - have a chance to participate in the vital debate

over media policy.

 

Joining Hinchey in sending the letter to Barton and Dingell were:

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Congressman Bernie Sanders

(I-VT), Congresswoman Diane Watson (D-CA), Congressman Jim McDermott

(D-WA), and Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR).

 

 

###

 

 

The text of the letter to Barton and Dingell follows:

 

April 25, 2006

 

The Honorable Joe Barton

The Honorable John D. Dingell

 

House Committee on Energy and

Commerce

 

 

U.S. House of Representatives U.S.

House of Representatives

 

Washington, D.C. 20515

 

 

 

Dear Chairman Barton and Ranking Member Dingell:

 

 

As the House Energy and Commerce Committee considers the

Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement (COPE) Act of

2006, we write regarding net neutrality provisions contained within

this important measure.

 

We are concerned that the COPE Act does not sufficiently protect the

freedom and open accessibility of the Internet, and instead would

essentially cede control to large telecommunications companies such as

Time Warner, AT & T, and Verizon. We respectfully request that you

change the COPE Act's net neutrality provisions in order to fully

guarantee freedom of access to all Internet content.

 

Free and open access to the Internet is essential for the

ever-increasing number of users around the world. Yet the provisions

within the COPE Act do not make a substantial effort to prevent large

cable and telephone companies from exerting influence on the speed of

content delivery to their users. Instead, these companies would be

allowed to tax content providers and discriminate in favor of their

own services and choose which other services prosper based on who pays

them more, achieving an unfair advantage over their competitors. Such

action would prevent consumers from obtaining the free and unlimited

access to information for which users value the Internet.

 

As members of the Future of American Media Caucus, we believe that net

neutrality should be a benchmark of the strength of American

democracy. Any attempt to limit information access on a pay-for-play

basis is antithetical to the goal for which the Internet was initially

created: to supply content to all users and providers without

discrimination. Our country cannot afford to allow media giants to

assume control over what information citizens view online. We must

protect net neutrality principles.

 

We therefore encourage you to use the upcoming mark-up to strengthen

net neutrality provisions in the COPE Act, addressing enforcement and

preventing discrimination through differential pricing and

discriminatory access. These changes are necessary to ensure that

consumers continue to receive information through the Internet in an

unbiased way, free of corporate influence.

 

Thank you for your consideration of our request. If you are in need

of additional information, your staff may be in touch with Moira

Campion of Congressman Hinchey's office at 5-6335.

 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

Maurice Hinchey, Louise Slaughter, Bernie Sanders, Diane Watson, Jim

McDermott, Peter DeFazio

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