For Immediate Release: September 19, 2017
Contact: Jareyah Bradley jareyah@balestramedia.com 908.242.4822
FCC Pressured to Release New Evidence on Net Neutrality’s Importance through Process Open to Public Input by NHMC and 20 Additional Groups
The National Hispanic Media Coalition yesterday, September 18, filed a joint Motion, with 20 additional organizations, in the FCC’s Restoring Internet Freedom Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proceeding asking the FCC to enter into the record all open internet complaints, ombudsperson correspondence and carrier responses since the 2015 Open Internet Order, and set a comment period to allow for public input on the new evidence. NHMC initially asked for all related documents in May and, as of this writing, has not received any of the attachments to the ombudsperson emails and has received only 823 pages of the 18,000 carrier responses to consumer complaints about issues they experienced. The Motion can be found here: http://bit.ly/2hb4Pst "It is imperative that the Commission incorporate all of the documents produced as well as those still missing into the record, analyze the information, and issue a Public Notice allowing the public the adequate time to review and comment,” said Carmen Scurato, director of policy and legal affairs at the National Hispanic Media Coalition. “Only then will the Commission be able to truly ascertain how the net neutrality rules have impacted consumers." View the documents and timeline here: https://www.nhmc.org/foia-release/ “It is remarkable that the Commission, by its own admission, has not verified whether any of the tens of thousands of consumers that turned to the FCC for help were harmed due to violations of the net neutrality rules,” continued Scurato. “This is strikingly at odds with statements by the Commission asserting an absence of consumer harm. Indeed, repealing these rules without verifying any of the complaints would eliminate the only recourse Americans have to resolve serious roadblocks to the way they work, learn, stay connected and express themselves.” NHMC’s Motion was joined by the following organizations: 18MillionRising.org American Civil Liberties Union American Library Association CASH Music Center for Democracy & Technology Center for Media Justice Center for Rural Strategies Color Of Change Common Cause Fight For The Future Free Press Future of Music Coalition Its Our Economy (www.ItsOurEconomy.us) National Consumer Law Center, on behalf of its low-income clients New America's Open Technology Institute OpenMedia Popular Resistance Protect Our Internet Public Knowledge United Church of Christ, OC Inc.###
The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) is the media watchdog for the Latino community, ensuring that we are fairly and consistently represented in news and entertainment and that our voices are heard over the airwaves and on the internet.
We exist to challenge executives and influencers throughout the entertainment and news industry to eliminate barriers for Latinos to express themselves and be heard through every type of medium. NHMC works to bring decision-makers to the table to open new opportunities for Latinos to create, contribute and consume programming that is inclusive, free from bias and hate rhetoric, affordable and culturally relevant.
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