When 19 organizations representing the communities most impacted by the Digital Divide issued a joint letter to the FCC last week, they added a new and much-needed element to discussions about net neutrality.
In recent weeks, legislators, ISPs, online application providers, mainstream advocates and ivory-tower digirati have fueled and shaped well-funded discussions about net neutrality into a din of vociferous rhetoric.
In the midst of these discussions, that have all but ignored the perspectives of the disenfranchised, minority groups have remained focused on their number one priority, eliminating the digital divide so that all Americans can have access to the benefits of broadband connectivity.
In their letter, these civil rights and advocacy organizations, including the Hispanic Technology and Telecommunications Partnership, urged the FCC to consider the impact of Internet regulations on populations that are unserved and underserved by broadband technologies.
The signers of this letter are the nation’s preeminent minority civil rights and advocacy organizations. It is time that policymakers incorporate our perspectives and expertise as they shape Internet policy.
In our evolving, diverse society, we can no longer let the digital elite dominate discussions that will shape the future of our Internet.
HTTP thanks its co-signers and supporters in this effort, who are working together to ensure that the Internet will be a place for ALL of us.
100 Black Men of America
Asian American Justice Center
Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies
ASPIRA
Black College Communications Association
Dominican American National Roundtable
Hispanic Technology and Telecommunications Partnership
Japanese American Citizens League
Latinos in Information Sciences and Technology Association
Labor Council on Latin American Advancement
Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc.
League of United Latin American Citizens
MANA: A National Latina Organization
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association of Neighborhoods
National Coalition of Black Civic Participation
National Disability Institute
National Puerto Rican Coalition
US Hispanic Leadership Institute
A copy of the letter is available here.
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