WASHINGTON, DC—Today, Rep. Doris Matsui and Sen. Patrick Leahy introduced a bill called the Online Competition and Consumer Choice Act, which calls upon the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take any action required to prevent Internet Service Providers like Comcast, Verizon and AT&T from picking winners and losers in an online free market.

The FCC is currently accepting public comments in its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on “net neutrality.” The current proposal has received tremendous criticism for what many see as the enactment of a “two-tiered” Internet, in which companies with deep pockets receive priority access to subscribers, while creators and other entrepreneurs are relegated to the slow lane. read more

WASHINGTON, DC—On Monday, May 12, 2014, dozens of creators came together on a letter to Tom Wheeler, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, urging the agency to do more to prevent discrimination against lawful content by Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Wheeler’s current proposal—to be considered by the Commission at a meeting on Thursday, May 15—reportedly allows for a “fast lane” that would disadvantage creators, innovators and entrepreneurs who depend on a level online playing field.

“The open Internet’s impact on the creative community cannot be overstated,” reads the letter, which was signed by Eddie Vedder, Neko Case, Roger Waters, Michael Stipe, Erin McKeown, Joe Perry, Tom Morello, OK Go, Fugazi, Ozomatli, David Lowery of Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven, Jeff Mangum & Astra Taylor of Neutral Milk Hotel, Fred Armisen, Mark Ruffalo, Evangeline Lilly and Oliver Stone, among others. “The Internet has enabled artists to connect directly with each other and with audiences. It has eliminated the barriers of geography and taken collaborations to new levels. And it has allowed people—not corporations—to seek out the film, music and art that moves them.”