WITNESS Joins 30 Other Groups to Support Net Neutrality

A long debate about whether all Internet traffic is created equal may be set to move forward in a big way, as American regulators are poised to ensure the principle of net neutrality in the United States. Thirty-one organizations from 21 countries and five continents came together to support the anticipated change, which is expected to be proposed at the Federal Communication Commission’s meeting on February 26th 2015.

A letter from the coalition to the FCC begins: “We write to applaud your decision to reclassify broadband under Title II of the U.S. Communications Act, a move that would finally treat broadband providers as common carriers, and require them to treat all content, applications and services equally, without discrimination. This move — which follows years of intense debate in the U.S. and abroad — is a signal to the world that Net Neutrality is essential to the growth of the global Internet.”

The groups signed onto the letter are all members of the Global Net Neutrality Coalition, which started in the fall and aims to enshrine net neutrality into law all over the world. It is a global coalition and a global issue, but at the moment these groups rightly have their eyes on what the US is set to do, because it is a decision that really matters. The US is home to the largest tech companies in the world and has an outsized policy influence globally, so it is important for the country to be a leader and a model when it comes to user rights and freedom online.

For WITNESS and the activists and citizen media creators we work with around the world, the open Internet has become a powerful and necessary tool in how our work gets created, shared, and acted on. That’s why we are proud to be a part of this coalition and excited to push for additional net neutrality victories worldwide. Look for more news and analysis to come from the Global Net Neutrality Coalition in the coming months.

To learn more about our advocacy to policy makers and technology companies visit this section of our website or our blog.

Featured image courtesy of Free Press.