As high profile tech executives, companies, and investors continue to speak out against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s upcoming vote to repeal existing net neutrality rules, mayors across the U.S. are also increasingly joining the conversation.
Today, Kansas City Mayor Sly James published an op-ed in Startland News, a blog that covers Kansas City tech news, in support of existing net neutrality rules. Mayor James argues that repealing these rules will hamper Kansas City’s efforts to become a digitally inclusive city.
“Equal access ensures that all consumers, regardless of income, zip code, and perspective, can access any website or that all websites, regardless of content, size, and profit margin, are accessible to consumers. Repealing net neutrality means that ISPs will become the gatekeepers of online content, enabling them to control Internet speeds, restrict bandwidth, and create paywalls,” Mayor James wrote in the op-ed.
Mayor James also criticized the FCC for voting along party lines in November to consider reforms to Lifeline, a program that provides discounted phone and internet services to low-income Americans. Pai said he wants to take a look at the “waste, fraud, and abuse that continue to plague the Lifeline program.”
“While the intentions are valid, it comes at the cost of low-income residents that are in need of affordable phone and broadband service,” Mayor James wrote. “Without access to affordable Internet services, many Kansas Citians could be excluded from the digital economy, which is becoming a larger and larger chunk of the economy at large and deprived of the opportunity to be a part of their community.”
Among the groups that Mayor James worries could be most hurt by the repeal of net neutrality rules and reforms to Lifeline are the city’s low-income residents, who may find it more difficult to get affordable internet access that would allow them to apply for jobs and find low-cost housing, and small business owners, who “could struggle to find customers if their website and social media pages are placed behind a paywall or made completely inaccessible by ISPs.”
Mayor James’ opposition to the FCC’s proposed rollback of net neutrality rules was also echoed by nearly 60 U.S. mayors, who signed an open letter to the FCC last week.
“As community leaders, we recognize the direct and substantial benefits that broadband connectivity and access to a free and open Internet have in our communities,” the letter stated. One of the mayors that signed the open letter was Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke, whose city garnered national recognition when it rolled out a publicly-owned fiber optic network in 2010. Motherboard dubbed Chattanooga “the city that was saved by the internet.”
“Chattanooga has a burgeoning tech culture … our tech community is growing, so we have one of the highest wage growths in the country,” Berke told Governing Magazine. “There needs to be a free and open internet so we can compete with the giants in the city.”
The FCC vote on net neutrality rules is scheduled for December 14.
