Over 200 internet companies including Twitter, Reddit, Airbnb, Shutterstock, Tumblr and Vimeo have signed a letter asking the FCC to scrap its plan to end net neutrality. In a letter released on Cyber Monday, the signatories urged FCC chairman Ajit Pai, to reverse recently announced plans last remove 2015 rules intended to ensure a free and open internet and once again give broadband service providers power over what content consumers can access. “An internet without net neutrality protections would be the opposite of the open market, with a few powerful cable and phone companies picking winners and losers instead of consumers,” said the letter, adding that the legislation could prevent innovative new businesses from even getting off the ground.
The letter was sent after the FCC last week released Pai's proposal for net neutrality, confirming he plans to overturn much of the previous Open Internet order, preventing providers from charging customers higher fees for high-quality video streaming. “The internet and companies like Twitter, which signed the letter, thrived under the pre-2015 light-touch regulatory framework that governed internet access. Chairman Pai wants to return to that framework so that we can increase investment in broadband networks and connect more Americans to the services that these companies offer online,” said FCC spokesman Mark Wigfield in a statement.
Republican commissioners outnumber Democratic commissioners by three to two, so the proposal is almost certain to pass in the vote due on 14 December.
