Thanks!

The Future of Music Coalition on March 27 launched Rock the Net — a nationwide coalition of musicians and labels that support Net Neutrality — at a press conference that featured Congressman Ed Markey (D-Mass.), musician Ted Leo and CD Baby founder Derek Sivers.

“Four years ago we got 4,000 musicians to sign on to the battle against radio consolidation,” says Jenny Toomey of the Future of Music, a charter member of the SavetheInternet.com Coalition. “With Rock the Net, we intend to get thousands of the nation’s musicians, independent labels and music services to become part of the effort to keep a ‘payola’ system from being established on the Internet. This will be the largest coalition of musicians for Net Neutrality in the country.”

There are more than two-dozen founding members of the Rock the Net Coalition including the Kronos Quartet, R.E.M., Sarah McLachlan, The Wrens, OK Go, Death Cab for Cutie and the Barenaked Ladies. These musicians will help recruit thousands of artists to support the fight for Net Neutrality.

The Rock the Net Coalition already has 124 bands and 24 labels signed on, and 24 shows scheduled. Bands and fans can track Rock the Net events around the country with their interactive map.

Musicians, indie labels, online music stores and others that want to join the Rock the Net Coalition can sign up and schedule events on the Rock the Net site.

There’s a debate in today’s Investor’s Business Daily between SavetheInternet.com’s Josh Silver and everybody’s favorite telco-funded talking head, Mike McCurry.

The former Clinton press secretary has squandered whatever credibility he once had by becoming a shill for AT&T and friends. He may have to make a buck, as he’s said before, but his sock-puppet arguments are wearing thin.

McCurry trots out the bogeymen of “government regulation” and “unintended consequences,” without ever convincingly explaining how consumers are supposed to benefit from giving his clients more control over what you see and do online.

But Silver, the executive director at Free Press, shows what failing to reinstate Net Neutrality really means for Web users:

Eliminating net neutrality will undermine innovation, investment and competition. It would take the decisions away from millions of users and puts [them] in the hands of a small cartel of telecom executives with a strong financial incentive to undermine the free market. For all their talk about “deregulation,” the cable and telephone giants don’t want real competition. They want special rules written in their favor.

More importantly, Silver makes the case for why all businesses, large and small, should be fighting for Net Neutrality now:

Spin doctors have spent countless millions on slick PR to convince us that [Net Neutrality is] a battle between corporate titans like Google and AT&T. In reality, the debate pits nearly every industry that uses the Web: banking, real estate, small-business associations, travel, search engines, retailers and gamers — to name a few — against the largest phone and cable companies.

It’s this unprecedented alliance – left and right, business groups and every major consumer organization, bloggers and librarians – that Congress won’t be able to ignore. McCurry can try to spin it differently. But he’s just spinning his wheels.

Today, the Federal Communications Commission announced an inquiry into Net Neutrality — the fundamental Internet principle that prevents phone and cable companies from discriminating against Web sites and services based on their source, ownership or destination.

While this maneuver isn’t the start of an official rulemaking, it could be the spark of a real public conversation over what the future of the Internet should look like. Small businesses, bloggers, hundreds of groups from across the political spectrum, the founders of the Internet and the World Wide Web, and millions of concerned citizens want Net Neutrality reinstated so that the Internet remains a vibrant, open environment for free speech, democratic participation and economic innovation. Millions more will join them as they learn about what’s at stake: the free and open Internet as we know it.

But as the Wall Street Journal reports, the Republicans on the FCC seemed to doubt whether this threat is real. But they need look no further than the statements made by the heads of the nation’s biggest telephone and cable companies. They’ve announced their plans to discriminate, to put toll booths on the information superhighway. We take them at their word.

Fortunately, their vision for the future of the Internet is not one shared by most Americans. It’s to these everyday Internet users, business entrepreneurs and technological innovators whom the FCC should be listening.

Members of the House on Wednesday pressed FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to take a stronger position in support of Net Neutrality, calling it “indispensable policy for the future of the Internet.”

Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) promised that this would be just one among many hearings focused on the Net Neutrality issue.

Jan 13: Markey Pledges to Support Net Neutrality

Markey, who authored a pro-Net Neutrality bill in 2006, has pledged to protect Net Neutrality in the 110th Congress.

Over the course of Wednesday’s often contentious hearing, representatives grilled the FCC chairman on a range of issues – from caps on cable ownership to an overhaul of the Universal Service Fund – but they frequently returned to the issue of Net Neutrality as fundamentally important to the progress of the Internet.

Net Neutrality Good for Business

Markey criticized Martin’s efforts to paint a rosy picture of broadband in America, noting the global decline of the U.S. in broadband penetration rates and speed of services compared to other developed countries. One ranking, the “Digital Opportunity Index,” placed the U.S. 21st in the world — behind Estonia.

Markey attributed this decline to the phone and cable industry’s grip on policymaking at the FCC. Reports in InformationWeek and Foreign Affairs echo Markey’s concerns, finding that forward-looking Internet policy — and not wholesale “deregulation” — is the way to save America from becoming a broadband backwater.

“It seems to me industry is setting the agenda [at the FCC],” Markey told Martin, adding that stronger Net Neutrality provisions “indispensable policy for the future of the Internet.”

Investors Inspired by a Neutral AT&T (Click on chart above)

Martin expressed concern that subjecting ISPs to Net Neutrality rules “would impede some investment” in the sector.

But the market performance of AT&T since it accepted Net Neutrality conditions to its BellSouth merger doesn’t bear out the chairman’s concern.

In the month following the company’s agreement to respect Net Neutrality, the value of AT&T stock price jumped by more than 10 percent (see chart), defying industry claims that Net Neutrality rules would result in a loss of confidence in their ability to build out broadband services.

Wednesday’s hearing was the first time in three years that commissioners had appeared before the subcommittee — a lapse that Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) said has had “unwelcome consequences.”

“We intend to have them here as frequent guests,” added Markey.

The blogosphere has been abuzz of late over a report that alleges Google is backing off its full commitment to Net Neutrality legislation. A recent story at GigaOm points to a quote from a Google exec that suggests the company is taking a different position.

This in turn fired up the AT&T shills and Astroturf groups who stumbled over themselves to declare disarray among Net Neutrality supporters.

But once again, the Net naysayers got it wrong. Surprised by what appeared to be a Google about face, we actually called the company to ask them where they stand. (You would hope that any good reporter would have done the same.)

“Google’s position on Net Neutrality has not changed one bit,” Google spokesman Adam Kovacevich told us. We asked him to put it in writing. He emailed us this:

“We strongly believe that Congress must take action to ensure a free and open Internet, in the face of a highly concentrated broadband market. Furthermore, Google’s position — which we testified to last year in Congress — is that broadband network operators should not be permitted to charge any content owner extra fees or extra tolls. We continue to support net neutrality legislation by Senators Dorgan and Snowe, and by Representative Markey, and we remain steadfast members of the coalition supporting net neutrality.”

Schmidt: With the Public on Net Neutrality

Adam echoes Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who just last week told Bloomberg TV’s Judy Woodruff :

“We believe that it is a violation of a fundamental assumption of the Internet, that every piece of the Internet is reachable. It’s called the end-to-end principle. And we believe that Net Neutrality, if it is given up, that new competitors, new entrants, new ideas, become much more difficult. So far we have been able to hold back the forces. It looks like we’ll have a good year.”

Good for Google. But it’s important to remember that this debate is not just between one corporate Titan and another. It’s a battle that pits the special interests of the few (phone and cable companies) against a vast grassroots effort involving more than a million Americans from every corner of society.

As much as they try, the phone companies and their paid apologists can’t ignore the people-powered campaign that has lifted Net Neutrality from obscurity and thrown a wrench in their plan to control Internet choice.

This debate is about ensuring that the Internet remains a engine for free speech, economic innovation and new ideas. We remain pleased Google sees it our way.

The SavetheInternet.com Coalition today urged Congress to press FCC Commissioners for their plans to ensure that the Internet become faster, more open and accessible to all Americans.

All five FCC Commissioners will testify on Wednesday before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. Members of our coalition have asked subcommittee chair Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) to put Net Neutrality atop the agenda — with a particular focus on urging FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to clarify his sometimes opaque views on the issue.

AT&T’s Ed Whitacre chats up FCC Chairman Kevin Martin

Chairman Martin doesn’t seem to understand why we need to prevent big phone and cable companies from discriminate against Internet content. Nor has he sufficiently explained why the U.S. has fallen behind the rest of the world in broadband services.

Cable and telephone companies spent more that $175 million last year to persuade people like Martin and members of Congress to gut Net Neutrality protections, but their lobbying couldn’t overcome widespread public support for the nondiscrimination rules that enabled the Internet to become an unprecedented vehicle for free speech and economic innovation.

“The Internet as we know it is a platform for free speech and artistic expression because of the fact that it has operated neutrally from the very beginning,” said Andrew Jay Schwartzman, president and CEO of Media Access Project. “I hope that the committee will press Chairman Martin on why he wants to change what has worked so well so far.”

“AT&T didn’t have to agree to the Net Neutrality terms, but it did,” said Gigi B. Sohn, president of Public Knowledge. Sohn was referring to AT&T’s agreement at the end of 2006 to respect Net Neutrality as a condition of its merger with BellSouth. “The rest of the industry, and the FCC, should accept the reality that AT&T’s conduct will be good for the country.”

There is enormous grassroots energy across the country for preserving the Internet as a level playing field. The FCC needs to be responsive to these widespread public concerns and not just to the pleas of phone and cable industry lobbyists.

Over the last three weeks, SavetheInternet.com has organized 20 “in-district” meetings where hundreds of activists urged their elected representatives and senators to support Net Neutrality. Small business leaders, community organization heads and others came forth to call on their elected representatives to protect them against corporations that have threatened to control which Web sites people can access.

The “in-district” meetings continue the grassroots momentum that saw Net Neutrality supporters deliver SavetheInternet.com petitions in 26 cities nationwide last August, urging senators to support a free and open Internet. More than 1.5 million people have signed the petition at SavetheInternet.com.

“Will the new Congress meet the challenge tomorrow to help guide FCC Chairman Kevin Martin away from the special-interest policies favored by his predecessor and toward those that will help all Americans achieve a universal broadband future with a free and open Internet?” said Amina Fazlullah, U.S. PIRG staff attorney. “That’s the important question.”

Stay tuned to this blog for complete coverage of the hearings.

A new study from independent researchers at the University of Florida shows that Net Neutrality — contrary to the claims of phone-industry shills — will actually give Internet service providers more incentive to expand their services and upgrade their infrastructure.

“The conventional wisdom is that Internet service providers would have greater incentive to expand their service capabilities if they were allowed to charge,” Kenneth Cheng, the lead researcher and professor at the University of Florida’s Department of Decision and Information Sciences, told our friends at Consumers Union’s HearUsNow.org. “That was completely the opposite of what we found.”

The Internet with Net Neutrality is unequivocally better for consumers. This study suggests that in the long run — if they could only see past the short-term opportunity for price-gouging — Net Neutrality is in the best interest of the telcos, too, because it promises the faster speeds, unlimited choices and innovative new services that their customers want.

>> Download the full study from the University of Florida
>> Check out the blog at HearUsNow.org
>> Read Harold Feld’s blog about the University of Florida study
>> Read our report, Net Neutrality: Fact vs. Fiction

SavetheInternet.com supporters are flexing their grassroots muscle once again, drumming up even broader support for Net Neutrality during 42 “in-district” meetings with members of Congress and their staff.

The meetings — held over the past 60 days in offices from Shoreline, Wash., to Palm Harbor, Fla., from Providence, R.I., to Bakersfield, Calif. — involved hundreds of activists who urged their elected representatives and senators to support Net Neutrality in the 110th Congress. As a result several members pledged to support Net Neutrality legislation when it came to a vote in Congress.

Here are reports from SavetheInternet.com activists in the field:

Rep. Phil Hare (D-Illinois)

Rep. Hare Gets Behind Markey’s Bill

Margaret Thomas a teacher from Rock Island, Illinois joined eight others to meet with Rep. Hare on April 14. “Phil was interested in the information we gave him and in our individual experiences which led to our being involved in this issue. He said that he would get in touch with Congressman Markey and support the legislation that will be introduced to guarantee net neutrality.”

Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.)

David Kaufer the founder and CEO of the Web-based start-up GreenforGood.com urged Rep. Jay Inslee (D -Wash.) “to be a strong and vocal leader.” Inslee introduced Net Neutrality legislation in the House last year. He remains committed to supporting the principle, according to staffer Adam Bartz, who met with SavetheInternet.com supporters at Inslee’s Shoreline office.

Andrew Pedersen, an independent recording artist, producer and distributor from Bellevue told a staffer from Rep. Inslee’s office that Internet radio is essential to the marketing of independent artists across the globe. Pedersen depends on Web sales for 100 percent of his revenues. “Without Net Neutrality, these stations would not be able to afford the increased bandwidth operating costs, and I might not be able to afford my Web presence.”

Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.)

SavetheInternet.com with Rep. Wilson: A Strong Supporter

“Rep. Heather Wilson concluded our meeting by saying she would definitely look into the possibility of co-sponsoring the Markey [Net Neutrality] bill,” reported Gary Maricle an Albuquerque-based small business owner whose business consists of 20 Web sites that sell New Mexico chiles. “She also stated she wanted to look into whatever proposals there might be on the Senate side, too.”

Along with five other Net Neutrality supporters from Wilson’s district, Maricle handed the congresswoman a handwritten note from Gov. Bill Richardson’s IT Commission Chairman urging her continued support of Net Neutrality. “I believe she was duly impressed,” Maricle wrote.

Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Kentucky)

Rep. Yarmuth: Voting in the public interest

Mark McKinley a low power radio activist in Louisville met on April 5 with Rep. Yarmuth. McKinley reports that his group gave Yarmuth a pro-business perspective on Net Neutrality. “Rep. Yarmuth seemed genuine in wanting to follow-up to learn more,” he writes. “We had the opportunity to get John’s read on this, and, after hearing from us, I feel he’s better prepared to cast his vote in the public’s interest. It matters.”

Rep. Henry Johnson’s (D-Georgia)

Candace Apple a businesswoman from Atlanta met with Johnson’s Special Assistant Carole Mumford on March 7. “We discussed free speech issues and the danger of losing internet neutrality,” she reports. “As a small business owner I discussed my concerned about the impact on the vitality of small business in America if the internet were no longer a level playing field.” Mumford told Apple and other activists that she had watched the SavetheInternet.com video and will alert Rep. Johnson to support the issue.

Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.)

Musician Daniel Krimm from Menlo Park joined a group of six others in a meeting at the office of Net Neutrality supporter Rep. Anna Eshoo.

“I mentioned that Eshoo herself and other elected officials have a strong interest in protecting their own access to their constituents as the Internet continues to increase the availability of tools to reach constituents outside,” he reported after the meeting. “We made a lot of points about common carriage, the increasing status of the Internet as an essential public utility (as various different media increasingly converge on this platform), and the need to protect market competition in the information market generally.”

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.)

Sen. Cantwell’s office a ‘cheerleader’ for Neutrality

William Purdy of Bainbridge Island met with Cantwell’s outreach director Shakti Hawkins on March 7. “Because of Cantwell’s background in high tech, she has a particular interest in Net Neutrality, he writes about the meeting. “She will be a cheerleader.” Cantwell is among the strong supporters of Senator Byron Dorgan’s bill (S.215). “The politicians who will oppose this should be made to understand that Net Neutrality is pro-business, pro-entrepreneur, pro-free market,” Purdy reports. “Those are things they understand and respond to.”

Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-Indiana)

Ross Rannells an internet software developer and instructor from Mishawaka, Indiana met on March 25 with Rep. Donnelly. “He promised to vote in support of Net Neutrality, Rannells writes. “Other supporters [at the meeting] put a human face on the issue and were able to convince him that the issue had a significant effect on the lives of his constituents.” Joseph Jackmovich who was also at the Donnelly meeting reports that the representative “went so far as to promise to not let Net Neutrality die.”

Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.)

Rep. Courtney Pledges Support for Net Neutrality

Freshman Congressman Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) pledged his support and promised to work with Markey’s office on legislation, according to John Smith, a member of the Suffield Board of Selectmen.

“I do believe that he now understands the issue, and I believe that because of our meeting he is better informed,” reported insurance agent Jeff Melhorn who joined up with Smith and four others to meet with Rep. Courtney. “I recommend that if you like your Internet the way it is, please take an hour out of the day and see your congressman. It is worth it.”

Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.)

Deborah Pearson from Cumming, Ga., met with Rep. Nathan Deal on Feb. 20. Mr. Deal “seemed very interested and concerned that his constituency would be adversely affected by any changes in the Internet,” she reported. “I believe Mr. Deal appreciated that I took the time to see him.”

Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.)

David Wass of Santa Barbara, California led a group of activists in a meeting on April 5 with Rep. Capps. “Lois said she would support Rep. Ed Markey’s bill due to come out later this year,” he writes. “All of those present were able to converse quite eloquently with the Congresswoman on the issue.”

Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.)

“Overall very encouraging,” reported Web developer Giles Hendrix about his meeting with the chief of staff from Rep. Yvette Clarke’s Brooklyn office. “We each gave our specific cases, and by the end of the meeting he was explaining the issue to us.”

“He listened, asked good questions, and gave everyone time to air out on the issue,” wrote Brian Donohue of the Daily rEvolution Weblog. “He specifically asked that he be notified when the Markey legislation is ready to hit the floor.”

Rep. David Davis (R-Tenn.)

“He was not previously aware of the Net Neutrality issue,” said Carolyn Rice Dean, a small business owner from Morristown, Tenn., after her meeting with Rep. David Davis (R-Tenn.).

Rep. Davis Tells Carolyn He’s Concerned about Threat to Small Businesses

“He seemed genuinely interested and asked me to keep his office informed as to what bills and when as that info becomes available,” she added. “That is when he told me he was a small business owner, too, and he completely understood.”

Rep. Davis later mentioned the meeting during a hearing of the House Committee on Small Business. Davis said that small companies in his district had expressed fears they might go under if stuck with either stiff access fees or slower Internet access. “Help me understand [Net Neutrality],” said the congressman, “so I can explain it to my constituents.”

Rep. Nancy Boyda (D-Kansas)

Kevin Siek of Topeka Kansas met on April 4 with staff from of Rep. Boyda’s office. “From the conversation I would say that Boyda is at least leaning our way on Net Neutrality… I’m sure if enough of her constituents urge her to support Net Neutrality she will eventually get religion.”

“Net Neutrality allows me to help grassroots organizations to organize for a variety of issues from local elections to global warming,” wrote Christopher Renner of Manhattan, Kansas who also attended the meeting. “Without equal access to the Internet such fundamental democratic processes would not longer help candidates like Rep. Boyda get elected.”

Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)

John Thrasher, a former entertainment retail executive from Bakersfield, told a staffer from Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s office that the Net Neutrality issue “cuts across party lines and should be viewed in the interests of trying to see that competition fairness is essential on the Internet.”

“Here’s hoping for continued progress,” he added.

Rep. Chris Carney’s (D-Penn.)

On April 5, Donald Noll of Jermyn Pennsylvania joined other Net Neutrality supporters in a lively discussion with Rep. Carney’s top aide before speaking with Carney himself. “The aide was very familiar with the issues and I believe we have allies here but we reminded him that we would be watching this issue closely and intended to follow up,” Noll reports.

Sen. Claire McCaskill’s (D-Missouri)

SavetheInternet.com at Sen McCaskill’s office

JoAnn Witt of Kansas City, Missouri met with Sen. McCaskill’s deputy regional director, Kimiko Gilmore on April 10. “We, all, had special examples of how we would be affected by a loss of Neutrality,” she writes. I made sure that she saw that companies would cause us all kinds of problems without a law prohibiting them from doing so.”

Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.)

An aide to Rep. Welch told Net Neutrality supporters that he was upset that there was so much bickering among members of Congress over this issue. “I said when huge amounts of money are on the table that table manners tend to go the way of all flesh,” said John Bloch, president of Onion River Community Access Media. Welch has come out in support of Net Neutrality.

Sen. Thomas Carper (D-Del.)

Branch Heller of Wilmington led a group of Net Neutrality supporters to meet with Brian J. Bushweller, the state director for Senator Carper. “We informed Brian that we wanted Senator Carper to sign on as a co-sponsor of the Dorgan-Snowe bill (S.215),” Heller reports.

“Mainly we presented two aspects: small business’ lack of ability to stay competitive, and the benefit to the public of having the freedom of unfettered access to information,” reports Marilyn Green, who attended the meeting with Heller. “That’s it in a nutshell.”

Rep. Mary Fallin (R-Okla.)

John Hoke a publisher from Oklahoma City met with Rep. Fallin’s aide Denise Northrup. “We are a small family business and we would run the risk of being shut out, or at best, paying for Web recognition,” Hoke reports. “[Northrup] was very receptive and said she would take the issue to Rep. Fallin. I think we had a positive impact with each of us offering a different but effective perspective.”

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)

Joshua Fidel a systems administrator from Medina, Ohio led a group in an April 12 meeting with Senator Sherrod Browns (D-Ohio) deputy director, Beth Thames. “As a System Administration Manager, it’s incredibly important to me that no traffic shaping is allowed to take place,” Fidel reports. Fidel told the staffer that a world without Net Neutrality would “hurt Internet businesses of all sizes … and create a significant barrier to entry.”

Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.)

“We had a very productive meeting. Everyone worked well together and several of us will continue to work together in the future,” wrote technology instructor Andrea Miller of her meeting with representatives of Sen. Jim Webb’s Richmond office.

Miller continues:

“I explained how both large and small companies would be affected. Brian and Scott both spoke about what would change in large organizations and about the fact that the telcos are already making millions of dollars for their services. Ken explained how smaller businesses would be impacted (and how some would be eliminated). Catherine spoke to how former foster care children and current foster parents would lose group support and informational assets. Tom Wolfe explained that his law firm would certainly be able to pay whatever additional costs might be exacted, but that many of his clients would not fare so well.”

Rep. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)

Rep. Murphy: Fighting corporate abuse

Michael Glenn of West Simsbury, Connecticut met on March 24 with Rep. Murphy. Murphy told Glenn and other SavetheInternet.com activists that one of the main reasons he ran for Congress was to keep in check corporate abuses. “He told us he had a meeting scheduled with telecom lobbyists and he would let us know how those encounters go.” Stay tuned.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)

Mark Page, a retired engineer from Little Compton, R.I., spent about two hours in Senator Whitehhouse’s Providence office talking about Net Neutrality with the senator’s state director, George Carvalho. “He came out of the meeting with a good basic understanding of what Net Neutrality is and how it affects every aspect of Internet freedom for the person on the street and as business owners.”

Page continues:

“Mr. Carvalho learned what we wanted him to learn. There was no hesitation on the issues, everyone made their presentations with conviction. There was no doubt that the people at that meeting really cared about this issue and that it bothered some and really pissed off others. … I told Mr. Carvalho, don’t let the senator not know about this issue. When this bill comes up, make sure he goes up on the Hill and votes against letting the big telecom’s take over the Internet.”

Rep. Steve Kagen (D-Wisconsin)

“We had a reasonable assurance from the aide that Congressman Kagen would vote on the right side of the issue,” reports Lon C Ponschock of Appleton, Wisconsin, who joined other activists at an April 18 meeting with Kagen’s office. “I’m glad I went and I thank you and Free Press and SavetheInternet.com for doing this important work,” writes Lon.

Rep. Pallone Hears from His Constituents

Other Recent Meetings:

Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) on February 23

Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-N.Y.) on February 27

Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) on February 22

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) on February 23

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) on February 23

Rep. Henry Johnson (D-Ga.) on March 7

Rep. Jane Harman (D- Calif.) on 30-March

Rep. Lee Terry (R-Nebraska) on April 3

Rep. Gonzales With Neutrality Supporters

Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas) on April 3

Rep. John Shimkus (R-Illinois) on April 4

Rep. Nick Lampson (D-Texas) on April 5

Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-Arizona) on April 11

Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colorado) on April 12

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) on April 12

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) on April 13

Rep. Betty Sutton (D-Ohio) on April 13

Rep. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) on April 16

If you want to organize a meeting with your representative, please contact Ira Horowitz at ihorowitz@freepress.net

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web told U.S. House members Thursday that protecting Net Neutrality should be one of their top priorities.

Testifying today before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, Sir Tim called upon Congress to ensure that the explosion of innovations happening on the Web not be slowed by limits imposed by Internet gatekeepers.

Net Neutrality ‘Obvious’ Listen to Sir Tim’s Testimony

His prescription for the Web’s continued success includes the preservation of Net Neutrality and the thwarting of new royalty systems that would “constrain what people can read or publish online.”

Net Neutrality an ‘Obvious Requirement’

Rep. Greg Walden (R-Oregon) asked Berners-Lee to prioritize the one or two policy priorities that Congress should solve in the short term.

“I hope that the Net Neutrality thing is a short-term thing,” Sir Tim replied. “In most of the world people regard Net Neutrality as such an obvious requirement that I hope [the solution] will be short term.”

“The Web took off in all its glory because it was a royalty-free infrastructure,” Sir Tim said, reiterating his earlier warnings against threats by phone and cable companies to impose new tolls on Web traffic.

Freeing Up the Connection

“Non-discriminatory Internet provision is very important for a society based on the World Wide Web. I think that is very important,” Sir Tim said in response to Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-California), who asked for an explanation of how an absence of non-discrimination rules would impact the development of the Web.

“The communication medium is so important to society we have to give it a special treatment … I will always be in favor of erring on the side of keeping the medium to be the blank sheet — of allowing me, if I connect to the Internet, to connect to everyone else.”

In June 2006, Sir Lee said that he was concerned about threats by phone and cable companies to constrain access to Web sites that don’t pay their extortionate fees:

“When I invented the Web, I didn’t have to ask anyone’s permission,” he said. “Now, hundreds of millions of people are using it freely. I am worried that that is going end in the USA.”

During his testimony today Sir Lee, who is now based in the US as a senior researcher at MIT, expanded upon these concerns from the perspective of a Web-based business:

“If we had a situation in which the U.S. had serious flaws in its Net Neutrality … and [a country in] Europe did have Net Neutrality and I were trying to start a company, then I would be very tempted to move.”

The Human Web

Subcommittee chair Ed Markey (D-Mass.) asked Sir Lee to elaborate on his concerns about royalty-free proposals for the Web and how such royalties might have affected his work had they been a part of his original design for the Web.

Lee replied:

“Chairman Markey let me assure you that if I had charged from the word go, per click, the World Wide Web would not have taken off at all. We would not be here talking about it.

“Had there been a fee there would have been no investment. The investment people made in the Web was made by volunteers in their garages late at night. … I myself was allowed by my boss to do it in spare time. People did it in their ten percent time. And if there had been any pay-per-click, if there had been any form of fee, they would not have gone anywhere near it.”

>> Read Subcommittee Vice Chair Mike Doyle’s opening remarks