Statement in Support of Net Neutrality

Washington, DC – In response to the Federal Communications Commission’s planned vote to dismantle net neutrality protections on December 14, the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) released the following statement, which may be attributed to David Levine, President, CEO and Co-founder of ASBC:

“Net neutrality fuels business competition. Without net neutrality, we lose the free market aspects of the Internet. That’s what enabled the explosive innovation and growth of the technology and media industries. The decision to end net neutrality is not just against the public interest, but against the interests of entrepreneurs — the engine of our economy.

“The FCC’s action — which will disregard millions of public comments in favor of net neutrality — masquerades as deregulation, but will actually make winners out of the largest internet service providers, and make losers out of every startup and small business.

“To understand the dangers here, think of the cable television industry, where a startup needs to raise tens of millions of dollars before it can appear on the cable systems. Contrast that with the internet we have now under net neutrality. On the internet, anyone can post products and services for almost nothing, and see if there’s a market for them. The communications giants want to turn the internet into the cable system, where they control who has access and can limit that access to the highest bidder. If the FCC truly cared about free markets, innovation and consumer choice, it would support net neutrality.”

ASBC published an open letter to FCC director Ajit Pai in August. The letter, co-signed by more than 500 U.S. businesses, explained how weakening or removing net neutrality protections would hurt the American economy. The letter stated, in part, “The open internet has made it possible for us to rely on a free market where each of us has the chance to bring our best business ideas to the world without interference or seeking permission from any gatekeeper first.”