EDUCAUSE Joins Call for Open Internet Hearings

Washington, DC

EDUCAUSE, the association for information technology in higher education and a member of the Open Internet Coalition (OIC), has strongly endorsed the OIC’s call for Congressional scrutiny of and legislation to eliminate recent telecommunications industry practices that constrain the openness of the Internet and impede continued U.S. innovation and leadership in the global information environment.

Letters sent from the Coalition to the chairs and senior members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, the House Committee on the Judiciary, and the Senate Committee on Commerce—Joe Barton, John Conyers, John D. Dingell, Daniel K. Inouye, Lamar Smith, and Ted Stevens—call for hearings to “explore the activities of the telephone and cable companies and consider legislation that would protect a fundamental tenet of the Internet, which is to allow citizens to communicate without threat of censorship or other anti-consumer behavior from a handful of gatekeepers.”

EDUCAUSE Vice President Mark Luker said, “It is critical at this time for Congressional oversight to counter the telephone and cable industries’ efforts to implement practices that would limit service and compromise citizens’ privacy in their use of the Internet. We strongly urge action in these key committees and are ready to work with Congressional leaders to help them understand the stakes for higher education.”

A copy of the letter the OIC sent to members of Congress asking for hearings may be found at http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/EPO0741.pdf [PDF 27 KB].

About EDUCAUSE

EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. The current membership comprises more than 2,200 colleges, universities, and educational organizations, including 250 corporations, with 17,000 active members. Learn more about EDUCAUSE at www.educause.edu.