AT&T is asking Congress to pass a federal net neutrality law to settle the internet freedom debate.
The telecommunications company is posting a full-page ad in newspapers around the U.S. on Wednesday, CNN Money reported Tuesday night.
“It is time for Congress to end the debate once and for all, by writing new laws that govern the internet and protect consumers,” AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson wrote in the ad, according to CNN.
Stephenson has asked Congress to establish an “Internet Bill of Rights,” guaranteeing net neutrality, an open internet, and privacy protection for customers.
“Because the internet is so critical to everyone, it’s understandably confusing and a bit concerning when you hear the rules have recently changed, yet again. Legislation would … provide consistent rules of the road,” he continued.
“We don’t block websites. We don’t censor online content. And we don’t throttle, discriminate, or degrade network performance based on content. Period,” Stephenson said of his company’s policy.
Spearheaded by Chairman Ajit Pai, a former Verizon attorney, the FCC’s “Restoring Internet Freedom” proposal passed along party lines last December, undoing Obama-era regulations that barred internet service providers from speeding up or slowing down access to certain websites. Those regulations are known by the nickname net neutrality.
A number of Hollywood stars came out against Pai’s efforts to dismantle the Obama rules, including Chris Evans, Common, Mark Ruffalo and George Takei.
Earlier this month, Netflix took a stand against the ruling, tweeting: “In 2018, the internet is united in defense of #NetNeutrality. For the FCC, we will see you in court.”
The tweet was in response to the Internet Association’s announcement it would “intervene in judicial action to preserve net neutrality protections.”