San Francisco Mayor Joins Fight To Save Net Neutrality
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee Wednesday submitted a letter urging the Federal Communications Commission to maintain "net neutrality" rules, as part of a nationwide "day of action" against proposed changes advocates say could threaten free access to the internet.
Lee joined mayors from New York City, Seattle, Boston, Washington, D.C. and other cities in the campaign, which aims to influence the FCC as it considers dropping regulations requiring internet providers to treat traffic from all web sites equally.
"The FCC is threatening to eliminate net neutrality rules that protect the democratic principles of the internet," Lee said. "It is critical that cities from across the country fight back against this action and stand up for an equitable, open internet."
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The city plans to place a banner directing visitors to the FCC's net neutrality comment page at sfgov.org, on the mayor's website and at other city sites.
Internet companies including Amazon, Google, Netflix and Twitter also joined the campaign, using website banners, pop-up windows, blog posts and videos telling users that the loss of net neutrality rules could lead to slower service or loss of access to some sites.
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The FCC adopted net neutrality rules in 2015 under a previous administration and is now considering repealing those rules. Some internet service providers have argued that the current rules are burdensome and give the FCC too much power.
The FCC's first comment deadline on the topic is July 17.
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