Nainlove BlogWhere Dreams Come True

Subscribe via email

Grab our RSS Feed

AT&T employees asked to turn lobbyist over net neutrality

An AT&T executive has asked the firm’s employees to contact the Federal Communication Commission and argue against its plans to enforce net neutrality. The request controversially suggests staff members to use personal e-mail addresses when making the arguments.

The letter, from Jim Cicconi (who is in charge of “external and legislative affairs” at the company) asks employees to post messages on the FCC blogs calling for it to vote against proposals to enforce net neutrality. That’s the principle that carriers should treat all types of internet traffic legally.

What’s said to be an extract from the letter has been posted online. It contains five points employees can make in their post, which are (summarized):

• The US wireless market is the world’s most competitive and doesn’t need regulation.
• That competition is already driving innovation at a rapid pace.
• Networks need to be “managed” to preserve services such as telemedicine.
• Net neutrality rules would deter internet carriers from investing and thus slow down the expansion of broadband.
• Any new rules should apply equally to websites rather than just internet carriers.

Naturally those points have been challenged by those supporting net neutrality enforcement. But what’s really ticked them off is that the letter reportedly suggests that AT&T employees use a personal e-mail address on their post.

Tim Karr of Free Press has accused AT&T of “astroturfing”. That’s a colorful metaphor meaning that the firm is trying to falsely create the illusion of grass-roots support by having it appear that the employees are writing in a purely personal capacity and haven’t been encouraged to do so.

An AT&T spokesman said staff weren’t being forced to make the posts and that the letter was merely for information: “If they use their company e-mail [in their posts] that is fine, too. It was not a mandatory business request.”

Popularity: unranked

You Also Like These Posts:

1. AT&T employees asked to turn lobbyist over net neutrality
2. Big name websites back net neutrality
3. FCC will propose net neutrality rules
4. Google employees claiming to possess the mythical Google Phone
5. Google adds comment feature “SideWiki” to every website
6. Big Butts behind Google u-turn over Pirate Bay deletion
7. Mobilink to Get Strict on Employees through Time & Attendance System
8. Google introduces Fast Flip Online News Reader
9. Mobilink to Get Strict on Employees through Time & Attendance System
10. YouTube hits 10 billion monthly views as Warner videos return

‹ Airport x-ray scanner limited by child 'porn' fears Shazahn and Ranbir not an item !! ›

Posted by Sana Iqbal on Oct 21st, 2009 and filed under Others Stuff, Technolgy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response by filling following comment form or trackback to this entry from your site

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website

Spam Protection by WP-SpamFree