Last week, the House and Senate Commerce Committees convened hearings to discuss the Open Internet or network neutrality hearings. Draft legislation has been circulated in both Chambers to address concerns that some Members of Congress have with the FCC’s proceedings. During the hearing, open Internet supporters told committee members that they are concerned the draft legislation would block the FCC’s ability to protect consumers’ access to an open Internet. Several witnesses pointed out that although the bill offers fairly general open Internet principles there is no real enforcement capacity for the FCC.

A number of technology trade associations weighed in on the hearings. Ed Black, President & CEO of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, made the following statement:

“Thwarting net neutrality rules would benefit a few legacy companies. It was good to hear both witnesses and multiple Members of Congress from around the country point out the greater overall economic benefits that come with strong Open Internet rules. We’ve heard the bigger Internet access providers that have been fighting Open Internet rules say they need business certainty. We agree, but hundreds of innovative companies and startups need certainty too - especially when raising start up capital. No investor wants to lend money to a company that could fail if an Internet Access Provider could offer a special deal to their competitor but not to them. The FCC was the institution Congress created years ago to look out for the public interest in communications network access. They were wise to reduce politics and charge an agency with protecting universal access to communications services, and they would be wise now to let the FCC carry out its mission. Companies like AOL, Amazon, eBay and Google all launched and thrived in the Title II environment of the late 1990s. We hope the FCC does the right thing and protects consumers’ and the next generation of innovators’ access to the open Internet.”

Learn more about eBay Inc.’s position on preserving the Open Internet.