After writing, “Cyber Bias: The Threat of a Two-Tiered Internet” I sent a message to our congress from Save The Internet.com informing them of the threat to the net neutrality principle that many ISP’s are wanting to impose, and I received an email from Colorado’s congresswoman Diana DeGette responding to my message. This is what she had to say:

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Dear Friend :

     Knowing of your interest in net neutrality, I would like to provide you with a brief update of recent events in Congress.

     As you may know, I serve on the Energy and Commerce Committee which has jurisdiction over telecommunications matters. Last year in committee, I voted for an amendment to H.R. 5252 , the “Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act”, which would have preserved net neutrality. Unfortunately, this amendment failed. I believe that the concept of net neutrality is an historic one that has contributed to the success of the Internet and that it is vital to codify this concept so that access to content remains in hands of users, and not the companies that provide Internet access.

     H.R. 5252 was later voted on by the full House. Once again, I voted for an amendment to preserve net neutrality, and once again it failed. Unfortunately, the bill passed the House by vote of 321-101. The principle of nondiscrimination is critical to keeping the Internet open, equitable and free. I believe that passing this legislation without a strong net neutrality provision could seriously hinder continued innovation and economic growth in the technology sector.

     Again, thank you for letting me know your views. Please feel free to visit my website at www.house.gov/degette . There you can sign up for my e-newsletter to stay up-to-date on current events in Congress. I look forward to our continued communication.

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     The H.R. 5252 amendment that Diana is referring to is part of the original Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act of 2006 (COPE Act). The COPE Act is a bill that benefitted ISP’s, while hindering the net neutrality principle. Ed Markey created an amendment that would have supplemented the COPE Act with a prohibition against service tiering. The COPE Act was passed but the Markey Amendment was turned down, so the bill has no significant network neutrality provisions.

     It’s unfortunate this happened, but it’s nice to know that our congresswoman is doing what she can keep the internet free for Americans. If you are in support of a free internet, I urge you to check out these sites dedicated to fighting the cause for net neutraility:

Save The Internet
Public Knowledge
Common Cause