Backroom Corporate Deals Won’t Protect Net Neutrality

WASHINGTON - The Wall Street Journal reports
that "broadband and telecommunications lobbyists restarted talks
Wednesday to agree to a proposal for how Internet traffic should be
managed." The talks are being held at the offices of the Information
Technology Industry Council, a lobbying group that represents dozens of
technology companies.

Free Press Policy Counsel Aparna Sridhar made the following statement:

"Industry deal-making is no substitute for responsible
policymaking. This latest effort by a few large companies to dictate
the rules behind closed doors will not protect Internet users. Industry
titans will propose rules that serve only their own interests. The
uproar over the Verizon-Google deal leaves no room for doubt that the
public rejects these secretive negotiations - and so should the FCC.

"It's time for the FCC to take back its role as a
policymaking body and act quickly to re-establish its authority over
broadband and to adopt meaningful rules to protect the openness of the
Internet for all Americans."