Former FCC Commissioner Michael Copps and Free Press...
Former FCC Commissioner Michael Copps and Free Press CEO Craig Aaron formally sought a meeting with President Barack Obama to raise concerns about the FCC’s net neutrality proposal. The proposal, approved by the FCC May 15, will “undermine Net Neutrality…
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and imperil the future of the open Internet,” their Wednesday letter to Obama said (http://bit.ly/1mJMLwm). “The proposal would permit Internet service providers to bifurcate the network into fast lanes for the few who can pay and slow lanes for the rest of us.” Giving gatekeepers control over how information is accessed “makes a mockery of the dynamic nature of the Internet, stifles innovation, and jeopardizes our civic dialogue,” they said. The two said they're well aware the president is busy and they did not take lightly the step of seeking a meeting. “Our nation’s Internet future is on the line, and a wrong decision now will inflict irreparable damage to a platform that is central to our economic and social progress,” they said. “We request a meeting to discuss how to solidify open Internet protections.” Copps, a Democrat and member of the FCC from 2001 to 2011, heads the Media and Democracy Reform Initiative at Common Cause and is a member of the Free Press board. He was interim chair of the FCC at the beginning of the Obama administration.