The Writers Guild of America is calling on the Federal Communications Commission to hold public hearings regarding net neutrality before it rules on changes to the Open Internet Order.
Michael Winship, the president of the Writers Guild, highlighted the multitude of public comments that were made during an open comments period regarding net neutrality when he wrote to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler.
"The time has now come for the commission to hold public hearings on the Open Internet rulemaking around the country. It is imperative that the FCC members travel beyond Washington, D.C., to hear for themselves the voices of the American people who insist upon an Internet kept available on an equal and democratic basis for all," says the letter.
Some 1.1 million public comments have been made to the FCC about keeping the Internet "free and open," with around 80 percent of these being in favor of net neutrality.
During the open comment period, the response was so strong that it caused the FCC website to crash, prompting it to extend the comment deadline until last month.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. also called on the FCC to hold the roundtable discussions, with the FCC having previously said that it would hold a number of sessions regarding open Internet.
"In July, I held a Senate Judiciary Committee field hearing in Vermont on the importance of protecting an open Internet. That hearing allowed the committee to hear from voices that otherwise would not have had an opportunity to be heard in Washington," said Leahy. "These voices included small business owners like Cabot Orton of the Vermont Country Store and Lisa Groeneveld of Logic Supply Inc. Both of these companies are great Vermont success stories thanks to the equalizing power of the Internet."
The FCC responded to the senator's request, saying that "the roundtable events are designed to incorporate a wide range of views on this important topic, and they will be open to the public and streamed live online. In addition, both online viewers and those who attend in person will have the opportunity to ask questions."
The issue of net neutrality is one that has garnered a lot of public attention. Despite this, it's still unclear as to what kind of rules will or will not be passed, or if paid prioritization will be a part of the upcoming regulations.
Several countries have already recognized a threat to an open Internet and have taken steps toward protecting net neutrality. Chile was the first to do so in 2012, with Slovenia, the Netherlands, Brazil and even the European Union doing the same.
Despite this, there are critics of net neutrality who say that the Internet should be dictated by the free market rather than government regulations, and that government regulations regarding an open Internet could have unintended consequences.
