DON’T LET THE FEDS REGULATE THE NET!

FreedomWorks grassroots activists across the country are actively engaged to stop Congressman Markey, Hollywood, and big internet businesses from exposing the Internet to federal regulation for the first time. Proposed ‘network neutrality’ legislation would give the federal government massive and unprecedented power over the Internet.

Technological innovation is placing pressure on bandwidth capabilities. As more people begin to demand and more services provide high definition video and greater speed, substantial investments will need to be made in basic internet infrastructure. Net neutrality mandates will depress investment and innovation by not allowing private providers to charge a premium for advanced services. Underinvestment will erode American internet competitiveness.

As law professor Christopher Yoo argues, prohibiting competitive pricing may have the unintended effect of creating more a concentrated and monopolistic Internet as the current ‘bigs’ consolidate their market dominance through government regulatory protection.

The Internet is abuzz with hysterical cries from groups calling for government regulation like MoveOn.org that “Congress is now pushing a law that would end the free and open Internet as we know it.” But “the Internet as we know it” is actually one without network neutrality regulations. It’s MoveOn and its ilk that wants to end the Internet as it is by granting the federal government new expansive powers.

FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe commented, “Some large content providers are spending millions of dollars to support left-wing groups like MoveOn to advocate for federally mandated corporate access to bandwidth. Common sense says the Internet is working fine, and there is no need for the federal government to interfere. That’s especially true as consumers, businesses, and technological innovation continue to create new and unexpected online services. What is clear is that ‘Net Neutrality’ is a government expansion masked with populist rhetoric. FreedomWorks believes the Internet has thrived precisely because it is largely free of regulation, and now isn’t the time to hand the future of the Internet to regulators at the FCC.”

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