On Wednesday, January 21, as the House and Senate played host to back-to-back hearings on net neutrality, it was clear that there’s been a seismic shift from how these debates have played out in the past.
Where before we’d see allies of Big Telecom claiming that net neutrality was “a solution in search of a problem,” now it seems like almost everyone is eager to paint themselves as allies of the open internet.
This shift in the debate amounts to an accomplishment worth celebrating as it demonstrates the real power of dedicated activist work over the past year, with millions of Americans—including countless musicians and independent labels—speaking out.
But it also comes with real dangers, as many of the same allies of Big Telecom who once fought Net Neutrality outright were now arguing for a new bill that under the guise of a net neutrality “compromise” could actually strip the Federal Communications Commission of its ability to actually protect musicians and other creatives’ ability to connect to their fans without being put in the slow lane.
read more