NHMC Statement on Net Neutrality Rules Going Into Effect

FCC’s New Rules a Step towards Ensuring that Consumers Are Treated Fairly Online

WASHINGTON, DC -- (NHMC – Sep 13, 2011) – The National Hispanic Media Coalition, NHMC, is pleased to learn of the Office of Management and Budget’s decision to allow open internet -- also known as “net neutrality” rules -- to go into effect. The rules set a basic framework to ensure that consumers are treated fairly online.

The Federal Communications Commission net neutrality rules are designed to protect consumers from unfair and discriminatory practices by Internet service providers. This means that once a customer pays to go online, her Internet providers cannot block or slow down her access to any website or application. It also means that consumers will have the same online access to small local businesses as they do to the big national corporations, evening the playing field for small businesses and preserving options for consumers. For several years now, NHMC has advocated for network neutrality rules as a way of ensuring that Latinos have an outlet through which to share their own stories without having to bypass the traditional media gatekeepers.

“While we firmly believe that these rules should have also protected a fair and open mobile internet, we are pleased that the FCC now has a starting point for encouraging fair play and discouraging big phone and cable companies from manipulating where we can go and what we can see online. NHMC will continue to monitor internet service providers to ensure that they are playing by these rules,” states Jessica Gonzalez, Vice President of Legal & Policy Affairs at NHMC.

On Friday the Office of Management and Budget completed its review of the rules and cleared them under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The rules are effective sixty days after they are published in the Federal Register.

Background information, data, and other resources regarding Net Neutrality can be found at:
http://nhmc.org/network_neutrality/all/posts

About NHMC
The National Hispanic Media Coalition is a non-partisan, non-profit, media advocacy and civil rights organization established in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. Its mission is to improve the image of American Latinos as portrayed by the media, increase the number of American Latinos employed in all facets of the media and telecommunications industries, and advocate for media and telecommunications policies that benefit Latinos and other people of color.

Please direct all news media inquiries to:
Rosalia Tenorio, NHMC Director of Communications
O: (626) 792-6462
C: (213) 718-0732
rtenorio@nhmc.org

Tags: net neutrality, open internet, FCC, NHMC, National Hispanic Media Coalition, Jessica Gonzalez