To Congress: An Open Internet Empowers Communities

It’s hard to think of anything in our daily lives more important than unrestricted internet access. For the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, the need for broadband access is especially important to ensure our low-income, immigrant, and elder residents get the services and information they need. So why are federal rules protecting the open internet so outdated?

Washington has been fighting over internet regulation for a long time. Since 2003, federal internet policy rulings and reversals have produced thousands of pages of legal documents but no lasting benefits for communities. But recently, the D.C. Court of Appeals upheld the 2017 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision to roll back a set of ill-fitted rules that sought to regulate the internet as a public utility, hampering investment and innovation. What’s more, these rules were crafted in the 1930s — well before the modern internet, including search engines and social media, existed.

This ruling is a positive step forward, but continued progress requires a federal open internet standard. The same court also ruled against the FCC in allowing state and local governments to write their own internet regulations. Consequently, the debate over internet policy will likely continue for many more years in state capitals and courtrooms nationwide.

It is time for Congress to end the back-and-forth and pass a national open internet standard that applies to all internet companies and protects all users.

Preserving an open internet is a matter of advancing justice and human dignity. Developments in areas such as healthcare, education, and mobility require an open internet to foster innovation and connectivity. AAPI elders, for example, rely on telehealth systems to preserve their independence and depend on an internet that can rapidly adapt and evolve to meet our needs.

Only Congress can establish clear and lasting benchmarks that preserve the open internet: no blocking, discrimination, throttling, or censoring and full disclosure on policies that impact us. These are common sense principles that enjoy bipartisan consensus. Congress must put an end to the policy flip-flops and sudden regulatory shake-ups by instituting laws that protect the internet and reflect how people use it.

Preserving the open internet is crucial for the success of the AAPI community — for our families, students, and small business owners alike-and serves as a powerful catalyst for entrepreneurship, social mobility, and economic opportunity. It is time for Congress to protect access to this vital tool so that all communities have the same opportunity to thrive in the 21st Century.

Originally published at https://www.ocanational.org in August 2019.