Mozilla, Reddit and Wikimedia Call on FCC to Restore Net Neutrality

Mozilla, Reddit, Wikimedia, ADT, Dropbox, Eventbrite and Vimeo call on the FCC in a joint open letter to restore net neutrality. The companies express their support for the FCC to use its powers for that recovery.

The open letter is addressed to Jessica Rosenworcel, the current Democratic chair of the Federal Communications Commission. In the letter, the companies underline the importance of net neutrality and that its recovery has the support of the American people. The companies are eager to see the FCC use its powers and mandate to restore it at the federal level, something the signatories say will also accelerate the recovery of the economy. Mozilla, among others, also spoke out strongly against ending net neutrality years ago.

In June 2015, the US was granted net neutrality. That was during the Obama administration, when there was a Democratic majority. This meant the introduction of strict rules, so that providers were no longer allowed to slow down or block internet traffic, and it was also forbidden to offer special fast lanes against payment of a higher price. That changed in December 2017, when the then Republican majority of the FCC voted to repeal the strict rules. That came into effect half a year later. It meant that, for example, slowing down the speed was no longer prohibited, provided the provider was transparent about this and thus did not violate previous promises.

These federal rules still apply, which has led many American states to come up with their own strict state net neutrality rules. An example of this is California. Previously, the US Department of Justice tried to block these California rules through a lawsuit, but that case has since been withdrawn, which Rosenworcel is happy about. With her appointment by President Biden, there is a good chance that net neutrality will be restored. Democratic Senator Ed Markey has also drafted a new bill that will bring net neutrality back into law.