As the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has decided to begin developing open Internet regulation, the Center for Individual Freedom (CIF) has unveiled a national grassroots campaign to rally conservatives in opposition to the efforts.
The Stop Net Regulation campaign was launched during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., and it encourages Americans to go online and sign a national petition, and contact their elected officials.
"’Stop Net Regulation’ will serve as the hub for the growing movement of conservatives across the country opposed to the federal government regulating the internet," said CIF president Jeffrey Mazzella.
He added that "hundreds of thousands of American jobs depend on private investment by Internet companies and these new regulations stand directly in the way of the nation’s economic recovery."
The FCC plan is intended to put in place regulations that would prevent these companies from restricting access to Internet content, applications and services offered by competitors. However, big Internet providers such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast have expressed their opposition, stating that regulations will prevent them from managing Internet traffic to keep services running smoothly to all subscribers.
Analysts say that applications such as Google, Skype and Facebook would be among the biggest beneficiaries of "net neutrality."