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April 05, 2006
Ballmer, Schmidt, Diller, Whitman weigh in on COPE markup
Forwarded to us today is a copy of another "love letter" from some people named Ballmer, Schmidt, Semel, Whitman, Diller and Bezos to Rep. Joe Barton and the members of the House committee marking up the COPE bill today. Guess what? They "urge the Committee to include language that directly addresses broadband network operators’ ability to manipulate what consumers will see and do online." Surprised?
Here's the full text of the letter:
The Honorable Joe Barton Committee on Energy and Commerce U.S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515Dear Mr. Chairman:
We write to express our concern that the telecommunications legislation being considered by the Committee fails to preserve the longstanding openness of the Internet. Without critical changes, the legislation puts at risk consumer choice, American innovation and global competitiveness.
Until FCC decisions made last summer, consumers’ ability to choose the content and services they want via their broadband connections was assured by regulatory safeguards. Innovators likewise have been able to use their ingenuity and knowledge of the marketplace to develop new and better online offerings. This “innovation without permission” has fueled phenomenal economic growth, productivity gains, and global leadership for our nation’s high tech companies.
To preserve this environment, we urge the Committee to include language that directly addresses broadband network operators’ ability to manipulate what consumers will see and do online. It is equally important to pass a bill that fleshes out these consumer freedoms via rules of the road that are both meaningful and readily enforceable.
We look forward to continuing to work with you and other Members of the Committee to protect millions of Americans’ legitimate expectations in an open Internet, as well as the innovation and competitiveness that it creates.
Sincerely
/s/ Jeff Bezos Founder and CEO Amazon.com/s/ Meg Whitman
President and CEO
eBay Inc./s/ Eric Schmidt
Chief Executive Officer
Google Inc./s/ Barry Diller
Chairman and CEO
IAC/InterActiveCorp/s/Steve Ballmer
Chief Executive Officer
Microsoft Corp./s/ Terry Semel
Chief Executive Officer
Yahoo!
Well written, folks. But maybe if this was important, it's time to jump on that corporate jet and show your face in D.C.? Just a thought.
Posted by paul at April 5, 2006 09:43 AM
Comments
Why is it that Google, Microsoft, eBay, Amazon.com Yahoo! and InterActiveCorp have been so reluctant to jump into the Telecom rewrite fray? I've been following the 2006 Telecom Rewrite pretty closely and it seems they have been slow to speak up, yet they have so much riding on COPE and future legislation.
According to the Center for Public Integrity, I know that Verizon spent $9,120,000, Comcast spent $3,240,000 and Time Warner spent $4,020,000 lobbying in 2004.
Does anyone report Google, Microsoft, eBay, Amazon.com, Yahoo! and InterActiveCorp's lobbying money spent?
Posted by: Jason Crow at April 18, 2006 10:38 AM