Andrew Jay Schwartzman, President and CEO of the Media Access Project, issued the following statement after today’s Federal Communications Commission vote to initiate a proceeding which would insure neutrality on broadband networks:

“This is a down payment on creating a digital democracy. Today’s vote to begin the process of requiring non-discrimination insures, among other things, that large internet providers will be unable to block or throttle speech from competitors or those who disagree with them.

The non-discriminatory environment in which the internet was developed fostered unprecedented opportunities for political and artistic expression. The elimination of neutrality requirements in recent years has posed a severe threat to the free exchange of issues and ideas which is essential for a healthy democracy.

Today’s vote puts federal policymakers on track to developing a framework for insuring that broadband networks serve the needs of all American citizens.”

Contact:

Andrew Jay Schwartzman
President and CEO
202 454-5685
andys@mediaaccess.org

Parul Desai
Vice President
202 454-5683
pdesai@mediaaccess.org

Matthew Wood
Associate Director
202 454-5684
mwood@mediaaccess.org

Kamilla Kovacs
Development/Communications Manager
202 454-5685
kkovacs@mediaaccess.org