Almost Everyone Who's Weighed in at the FCC Loves Net Neutrality
Our friends at the Sunlight Foundation are some of the best data detectives around. And when they analyzed the record-breaking number of comments on FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s Internet rules, they found that less than 1 percent oppose Net Neutrality.
That’s right: less than 1 percent. And within that tiny cluster of Net Neutrality haters are the very companies — AT&T, Comcast, Verizon — that would profit from a closed Internet.
But enough about the naysayers: Sunlight’s research shows that all of the other comments advocate for strong open Internet protections.
Here are some key findings:
- About two-thirds of the commenters do not want the Internet split into fast and slow lanes. (Despite his claims to the contrary, Wheeler’s proposal would allow broadband providers to charge more for speedier access.)
- About two-thirds of the commenters favor reclassifying broadband providers as common carriers. (This is the only way to secure real Net Neutrality.)
- While many of the comments come from bulk petition deliveries from groups like Free Press, there are many more individual comments than you usually see in these kinds of proceedings.
This last point comes as no surprise to all of us who have been fighting Wheeler’s plan the last few months. Pretty much everyone except the big broadband providers wants the FCC to preserve the Internet’s level playing field — and people are speaking out across the country in all sorts of ways.
On Sept. 10, Free Press and our partners at Battle for the Net are launching the Internet Slowdown to show the world what the Web would look like if the sites we know and love get stuck in the slow lane. And on Sept. 15 — the day final comments on Wheeler’s proposal are due — Free Press is holding Net Neutrality rallies in New York City and Philadelphia.
Read the full Sunlight report here, and stay tuned for more details on the fight to save the Internet.