Corbett Kroehler

I Wouldn't Be A Candidate Without Net Neutrality

My full-scale reliance on the Internet to be an informed citizen and later to become a congressional candidate began in the summer of 2003. Because I felt obliged to conduct as much research as possible into all of the Democratic candidates for president in the 2004 cycle, I spent literally hours reading and watching online news coverage of most of the candidates. It was an eye-opening experience.

Then, in the ashes of Senator Kerry's quest to unseat George Bush, I heard the call to run for office myself. I did not answer the call until earlier this year but if I didn't know that I could use cyberspace as a key tool in reaching out to voters, I know that I never would have decided to run.

Simply put, Net Neutrality is essential to free speech, equal opportunity and economic innovation in America. The rise of Google and their new subsidiary, YouTube, to reach more Americans than conventional broadcast media, is all the proof anyone should need. However, since the FCC removed this basic protection in 2005, the top executives of phone and cable companies have stated their intention to become the Internet's gatekeepers and to discriminate against Web sites that don't pay their added tolls.

This fundamental change would end the open Internet as we know it. It would damage my ability to connect with voters, share information and participate in our 21st century democracy and economy with the ultimate hope of being elected to Congress. The FCC must ensure that broadband providers not block, interfere with or discriminate against any lawful Internet traffic based on its ownership, source or destination, period!