Americans for Prosperity Slams FCC's Internet Takeover Attempt

/PRNewswire/ -- Phil Kerpen, vice president for policy at Americans for Prosperity (AFP), released the following statement in response to the Notice of Inquiry announcement today by the Federal Communications Commission:

"Today marks a troubling and dangerous step forward in the Federal Communications Commission's ongoing effort to take over the internet. The FCC's Notice of Inquiry is an aggressive step in their reckless effort to force decades-old Title II public utility regulations on Internet providers.

"Such a radical change undoes a remarkable decade of success with a free-market, hands-off Internet. No wonder we have seen mounting bipartisan opposition to reclassification from consumers worried about the impact Title II would have on innovation and competition, small businesses worried about a sudden drop in investment, and free-market allies worried about the increased role of the federal government in internet policy.

"Despite the outcry from nearly 300 Democrats and Republicans, President Obama's FCC is determined to regulate. We therefore urge Congress to step in immediately to stop the Commission's dangerous efforts to get regulatory control of the Internet."

AFP's new website -- www.NoInternetTakeover.com -- provides information and tools for Americans to engage their members of Congress on this critical issue.

Americans for Prosperity(TM) (AFP) is committed to educating citizens about economic policy and mobilizing those citizens as advocates in the public policy process. AFP is an organization of grassroots leaders who engage citizens in the name of limited government and free markets on the local, state and federal levels. The grassroots members of AFP advocate for public policies that champion the principles of entrepreneurship and fiscal and regulatory restraint.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter:  @GAFrontPage

State Legislators Say Net Regulation Will Hurt Investment and Jobs

/PRNewswire/ -- The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has delivered a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opposing proposed network neutrality regulation. The state lawmakers expressed serious concerns that the unintended consequences of the proposed federal regulatory expansion into the Internet will harm states' economies. ALEC's letter was signed by 91 legislators from 36 states.

Connecticut State Representative Bill Hamzy serves as Chair of ALEC's Telecommunications & Information Technology Task Force and is the lead signatory of the ALEC letter opposing network neutrality regulation. "Federal regulation of broadband networks is the wrong way to spur the kind of technological innovation and financial investment in broadband infrastructure that will bring sustainable job growth to state economies. Since the FCC cannot even point to any existing problem with the Internet, it should say 'no' to network neutrality regulation," he said.

The ALEC letter described the proposed network neutrality regulation as "an unprecedented foray into government control of broadband private networks and the Internet" that could result in economic slowdown and setback in the states. "If adopted, extensive regulatory control and uncertainties will harm innovation, stifle investment, and curtail job growth. We believe that unintended consequences stemming from the draft rules will be detrimental to our states' economies and forestall marketplace recovery."

In 2007, ALEC adopted a Resolution on Network Neutrality that calls on the federal government and states to refrain from imposing such regulation.

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is the nation's largest nonpartisan, individual membership organization of state legislators.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter: @GAFrontPage