WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) — U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota) pressured Comcast to clarify whether it will continue to honor net neutrality rules in the future. Franken, who’s been working hard to preserve the open Internet and keep the consolidation of media in check, is concerned that the Comcast-Time Warner Cable (TWC) deal would pose a threat to the open nature of the Internet. If regulators allow the deal to go through, he said, it could make Comcast—already the biggest Internet service provider—a gatekeeper of Internet traffic on its networks.
Comcast, which is required to abide by net neutrality rules until the beginning of 2018 as a condition of its 2011 acquisition of NBCUniversal, has been running advertisements claiming that its massive acquisition of TWC would be a boon for net neutrality. In a letter sent on Wednesday, May 21, Sen. Franken asked Comcast to explain if it will continue to abide by those rules after they expire.
“Net neutrality prevents Internet service providers like Comcast from picking-and-choosing whose Internet traffic will reach consumers,” wrote Franken. “It is a fundamental aspect of the Internet’s basic architecture, and it has allowed the Internet to become the platform for innovation and connectivity that it is today.”
Later, he added, “If Comcast’s proposed acquisition of TWC were approved, nearly forty percent of the nation’s broadband subscribers would be under Comcast’s thumb. To address concerns about such extensive concentration of power, Comcast has made net neutrality a central issue in its affirmative case for the Comcast-TWC deal. As such, it should explain fully its intentions with respect to net neutrality, not just for the period that runs from now until 2018.”
To conclude the letter, Franken pressed Comcast to plainly answer if it will abide by existing net neutrality obligations beyond 2018, regardless of whether the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) implements new, industry-wide rules.
Franken has long been fighting to give a voice to the millions of consumers in Minnesota and across the country who are being squeezed by cable and Internet costs. When Comcast’s deal with TWC was announced earlier this year, he took a lead role in questioning the deal at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
In addition, Franken has been among the most vocal advocates of preserving net neutrality to keep the Internet a level playing field for everybody. When a federal appeals court struck down the rules for net neutrality earlier this year, Sen. Franken called on the FCC to take appropriate action to preserve equal access to the Internet. In April, Sen. Franken wrote to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, saying that his proposal to allow corporations to pay for preferential treatment on an Internet fast lane was misguided, and he urged the Chairman to change course.
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Preceding provided by Senator Al Franken