Received this e-mail today from former Attorney General and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director, Richard Cordray’s (D. OH) gubernatorial campaign:
Richard Cordray (D. OH)
Your right to a fair and open internet is in jeopardy.
Last week, the Federal Communications Commission voted to overturn the rules put in place to defend your internet access against interference from powerful interests — protections commonly known as net neutrality.
With this vote, the FCC ignored the will of millions of Americans who have spoken out in support of net neutrality. The internet is one of our greatest assets, underlying more and more of our communications and our economy, and consumers deserve to have their say on this decision.
Any policy of this kind is incredibly important to our future. The approach we take will create winners and losers, and it deserves a more thoughtful airing and more public input before it is decided. I strongly object to Chairman Pai's mocking tone that makes light of these issues — dressing up as Santa Claus and wielding a lightsaber — and fails to recognize the damage his approach may do to end users and many businesses if not considered more carefully.
This measure urged by Chairman Pai will allow certain companies to determine what we read, watch, stream, or listen to. It will affect both the speed and the pricing of everything we do online, from commerce to entertainment. It deserves more careful scrutiny, rather than a mocking approach that fails to do justice to the important issues at stake.
And as we increasingly rely on the internet as our source of news, this action is nothing short of a direct challenge to our democracy in both its substance and its process.
We have a window of time to influence what Chairman Pai is doing. Progressive leaders in Congress are working quickly to pass legislation to override the FCC and defend net neutrality, and several states are stepping up to challenge the measure in the courts.
When regulators run roughshod over the needs of consumers, we are ultimately the ones who will end up bearing the cost.But we must act fast. Will you add your name right now?
