Writers Guild of America, East to FCC: Hold Public Hearings on Net Neutrality

NEW YORK, NY (AUGUST 4, 2014) – The Writers Guild of America, East (AFL-CIO) today called on the Federal Communications Commission to hold public hearings before it rules on changes to the Open Internet Order (i.e. Net Neutrality).

Guild President Michael Winship and Executive Director Lowell Peterson wrote a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler that highlighted how the FCC received a record-breaking million-plus comments, extending the submission deadline to meet overwhelming public demand.  The letter emphasized that holding public hearings is the essential next step.

The letter states that “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, DC, 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.”

“[The Writers Guild of America, East] stands ready to assist the Commission in making these hearings possible. They are vitally important to our union members — the storytellers and journalists who present America to itself and the world – and to every citizen who values the freedom to speak and be heard.

The Writers Guild of America, East havehas? recently submitted comments to the FCC regarding revisions to the Open Internet Order and the pending mergers of Comcast with Time Warner Cable and AT&T with DirecTV, noting that the FCC “will determine how the media landscape is drawn for generations to come.”

You can read the full text of the WGAE letter here.