MassTLC, Policy
net neutrality, policy

Tech CEOs Urge Congress to Support Federal Net Neutrality

In January of this year, MassTLC joined with Senator Edward Markey to announce a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval. Tomorrow, May 9th, Senator Markey will be filing this discharge petition to force a vote on the net neutrality CRA resolution, and activists across the country will be engaging in an online protest to save net neutrality.

MassTLC, along with several of the MA tech leaders, are actively advocating that Congress intervene by putting forth federal legislation that will remediate the issues left by the FCC ruling and avoid a patchwork of conflicting new net neutrality laws passed by individual states.

Below is a copy of a letter calling on Congress to take up this important in issue.

 

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To Members of the 115th Congress,

On behalf of the Massachusetts Tech Sector, we are writing to share our support for clear, comprehensive federal net neutrality rules.

As Massachusetts helps lead the world into an increasingly digital future – one where data and services are located in the cloud, where everything from medical devices to autonomous vehicles are on the network – reducing the speed of access will hamper innovation and hurt businesses.

The Commonwealth is among those states that are leading the global transition into a digital age. This leadership is built upon the level playing field created by an open Internet. The lack of a federal policy will encourage individual states to implement their own net neutrality regulations, resulting in a patch work of confusing and difficult to enforce laws.  As such, Congress must act to implement federal protections against blocking, throttling and anti-competitive behavior.

Tech is a key driver of the Massachusetts economy. When direct and indirect impact is considered, tech in Massachusetts underpins a staggering:

  • 34% of jobs in Massachusetts
  • 34% of the gross state product
  • 44% of MA payroll

Massachusetts is the most educated state in the nation, we have a tech-savvy consumer base and one of the greatest concentrations of innovators and entrepreneurs in the world. A free and open Internet is the foundation upon which breakthrough technologies and our economy are built.

We urge Congress to take action to protect a free and open internet.

Tom Hopcroft, CEO, MassTLC
Mohamad Ali, CEO, Carbonite
David Askey, Co-Founder & CEO, Ascend Robotics
Tom Axbey, President & CEO, Cloudhealth Technologies
Lynn Bailey, CEO, Index Data
David Barbato, Co-Founder & CEO, Talent Retriever
Peter Bauer, CEO, Mimecast
Dries Buytaert, Founder & Project Lead, Drupal, Acquia
Matthew Chisolm, Co-Founder & CEO, Cantina
Chris Comparato, CEO, Toast
Jeff Ernst, Co-Founder & CEO, SlapFive
Suresh Gopalan, Founder & CEO, ReSurfX
Laura Harriman, Founding Partner, Triverus Consulting
Eric Healy, CEO, NorthOut, Inc.
Paul Henderson, Founder & CEO, myharbors, LLC
Jeffrey Hibbard, CEO, IntervalZero
Kip Hollister, Founder & CEO, Hollister Staffing
Christina Inge, Founder, Thoughtlight
Chris Jennings, Founding Partner, Triverus Consulting
Richard King, Co-Founder & CIO, ConnectPay
Jack Little, President & Co-founder, Mathworks
Rory MacKean, CEO, Franklin Robotics
Geoff Mamlet, Executive Chairman, Impact Hub Boston
Abby Maxman, President, Oxfam America
Sarah McCrary, CEO, GasBuddy
Steven Minsky, CEO, LogicManager
Udi Mokady, Chairman & CEO, CyberArk Software
Meredith Moss, CEO, Finomial
Praveen Ramanathan, President & CEO, Ayantek, LLC
Stephen Sanzo, CEO, Isovera
Robert Seaver, Founder & CEO, Vivox
Trynka Shineman, CEO, Vistaprint
Zach Slayton, Founding Partner, Triverus Consulting
Mary Ellen Sparrow, Co-Founder & CEO, NextShift Robotics
Debbie Theobald, Co-Founder, Vecna Technologies & Executive Director, Vecna Cares
Corey Thomas, CEO, Rapid7
Frank Wander, Founder & CEO, PeopleProductive
Jason Walker, Co-Founder & CEO, Waypoint Robotics
Mike Zani, CEO, The Predictive Index
Tracy Zhen, President, Zipcar

 

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