Media Access Project Joins Groups Calling for FCC Action to Preserve the Open Internet
Posted: Thursday January 14, 2010
Media Access Project (MAP) joined today with public interest groups Center for Media Justice, Consumers Union, New America Foundation, and Public Knowledge in submitting comments that support adoption of the Federal Communications Commission’s proposed open Internet rules.
The joint comments call upon the FCC to prohibit Internet service provider (ISP) discrimination that interferes with access to or use of the lawful content, applications, services, and devices of Internet users’ choice.
The filing also argues for a narrow definition of so-called “reasonable network management practices,” the use of which might allow ISPs to deviate from the open Internet rules under limited circumstances, and makes the case for the FCC’s proposed transparency principle requiring clear disclosure of such network management practices. “Rules to preserve the open architecture and character of Internet are essential to the continued vitality of this transformative communications platform” said Matt Wood, Associate Director of the Media Access Project. “ISPs have engaged in discriminatory and disruptive conduct in the past, and then failed to disclose such conduct until they were caught red-handed.
“The threat of increasingly invasive, anticompetitive, and innovation-dampening ‘management’ techniques continues to rise. FCC action to reduce that threat is justified by the law and supported by the record evidence in this proceeding. The moderate rules proposed by the FCC will go a long way toward preserving freedom of expression, enhancing political participation, promoting economic opportunity, and protecting the civil rights and civil liberties of all Americans.”
MAP also submitted two sets of comments on behalf of over forty civil rights and public interest organizations earlier today.
Media Access Project is a non-profit, public interest law firm dedicated to promoting the public’s First Amendment right to access a diverse marketplace of ideas in mass media. For over 37 years, MAP has promoted the public interest before the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the U.S. Courts, advocating for an open and diverse telecommunications system that protects the free flow of information, promotes universal and equitable access to communications and technology services, and encourages vibrant public discourse on critical issues facing our society.