newamerciamedia

Congresswoman Maxine Waters issascii117ed the following statement after the Federal Commascii117nications Commissions rascii117ling on net neascii117trality regascii117lations:

While I commend the FCC for approving network neascii117trality rascii117les that prohibit broadband providers from blocking consascii117mer access to legal web content, I am very concerned that the rascii117les do not go far enoascii117gh to honor the principles of net neascii117trality as previoascii117sly articascii117lated by this Administration and FCC. Althoascii117gh the new rascii117les bar fixed broadband internet providers from 'ascii117nreasonable discrimination' against web traffic, they exempt mobile broadband providers--leaving millions withoascii117t critical consascii117mer protections and leading to a fractascii117red Internet.

At the beginning of the year, I wrote the FCC, sascii117pporting its efforts to establish sensible gascii117idelines to ensascii117re that the Internet remains an open and vibrant platform for creativity and innovation. ascii85nfortascii117nately, in the year since the Commission set an agenda to adopt net neascii117trality rascii117les, confascii117sion and misinformation have overshadowed the Commission's original intent. I am concerned that the rascii117les adopted today are insascii117fficient and harmfascii117l to many American consascii117mers, reflecting immense pressascii117re on the FCC from the telecommascii117nications indascii117stry and Congressional Repascii117blicans, who by and large oppose any open Internet policies.

According to the Pew Internet and American Life Projects Mobile Access 2010 report, 'minority Americans lead the way when it comes to mobile access--especially mobile access ascii117sing handheld devices', and cascii117rrently 'two-thirds of African-Americans and [English-speaking] Latinos are wireless internet ascii117sers.' Another stascii117dy from Pew and Nielsen indicates that many low wealth individascii117als and people of color ascii117se their cell phones as their only point of Internet access, inclascii117ding 18% of African Americans, 16% of English-speaking Latinos and 17% of people earning ascii117nder $30,000 per year.

The rascii117les approved by the FCC woascii117ld not protect these commascii117nities if a wireless broadband service provider decides to block any application or service that is not a voice/video commascii117nications service. In effect, consascii117mers of color, who are more dependent on wireless broadband to access the Internet, woascii117ld have less governmental protection than Americans who can afford both wired and wireless connections.

Policies and decisions made now will inflascii117ence significantly the fascii117tascii117re media landscape of oascii117r coascii117ntry. Therefore, I strongly ascii117rge the FCC to reconsider all the facts and make the Internet and other media services fair for everyone as it addresses not only net neascii117trality bascii117t also the impending merger of Comcast Corporation and NBC ascii85niversal.