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For Immediate Release
Contact:

Jenn Ettinger, Media Coordinator, 202-265-1490 x 35

Free Press Calls for Swift FCC Action to Protect Internet Users

Chairman Genachowski Must Seek Quick Vote on 'Third Way' Proposal to Restore FCC Authority on Broadband

WASHINGTON

In
reply comments filed yesterday with the Federal Communications
Commission, Free Press debunked industry arguments against the agency's
proposal to re-establish a legal framework that allows it to set
broadband policy. Free Press called for the FCC to move forward quickly
with a vote on Chairman Julius Genachowski's "third way" proposal so the
agency can continue to protect consumers and promote innovation in the
broadband marketplace.

S. Derek Turner, Free Press research director, said:

"The FCC cannot carry out the National Broadband Plan or
protect Internet users unless it restores its authority to regulate
broadband. The FCC chairman's proposal is a sensible, limited revision
that rescues the agency from a failed legal experiment conducted by the
previous administration. In this proceeding, the phone and cable
companies and other reflexive opponents of regulation use breathless
hyperbole and veiled threats to obscure the basic fact that the FCC must
be able to exercise basic oversight over the communications networks of
the 21st century.

"We urge the Commission to follow through on its sensible
proposal, ignore the cynical attacks of industry-funded critics, and
focus on its duty to faithfully implement the Communications Act.
America has already lost too much waiting for the agency to formulate a
national broadband policy, and it would be irresponsible to delay
further simply because industry wishes for the FCC to have no authority
over broadband communications."

Link to Free Press reply comments: https://www.freepress.net/resource/free-press-reply-comments-matter-framwork-broadband-internet-service

Free Press was created to give people a voice in the crucial decisions that shape our media. We believe that positive social change, racial justice and meaningful engagement in public life require equitable access to technology, diverse and independent ownership of media platforms, and journalism that holds leaders accountable and tells people what's actually happening in their communities.

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