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Tomorrow, May 10, will be one of the very first times a Net Neutrality bill will be heard at the state level. Here in Maine, concerns about how the loss of Net Neutrality would have a negative impact on the local economy has led state legislators to do what they can to protect Mainers’ Internet freedom.

State Senator Ethan Strimling took the lead when he introduced LD 1675 – “An Act to Protect Network Neutrality” — into the state legislature. We are a state of leaders on this issue, as Republican Senator Olympia Snowe is the prime sponsor of the federal Net Neutrality bill. Passing the state bill will provide momentum for her Net Neutrality efforts in Washington.

>> Follow this link to support the Maine bill

Guest Blog Post By Jon Bartholomew in Augusta, Maine

A Maine coalition of organizations, businesses, civic leaders and academics held a press conference yesterday to rally more public support for this important bill. Here is some of what was said:

Shenna Bellows, Executive Director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union:

“Net neutrality means a free and open internet and the freedom to choose what content you read and what applications you use. The Internet has always been an arena of democracy where every person could speak up and be heard and the Maine Legislature should do its best to keep it that way by supporting LD 1675.”

Lance Dutson, founder of mainewebreport.com:

“Reinstating Net Neutrality principles is essential to fostering the creative and technology industries upon which the future of Maine’s economy depends. As this state begins to invest in the improvement of our broadband infrastructure, legislators should insist that safeguards are in place to make Maine’s technological growth beneficial to all Maine people. Net neutrality is good for small business and it’s good for Maine.”

Also at the press conference were John Goran of the Community Television Association of Maine, Brian Hiatt of the League of Young Voters, and Rich Brooks of Flyte New Media.

(Click here for audio of the story on Maine Public Radio)

— Jon Bartholomew is the National Media and Democracy Organizer for Common Cause, a SavetheInternet.com Coalition member. More information about Maine’s Net Neutrality efforts can be found by visiting www.maineinternetfreedom.com.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 9th, 2007 at 11:29 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.