20 October 2009 | Author: D. Warburton Search Copywriter

Google, Facebook and Twitter CEOs support net neutrality ruling

The CEOs of Google, Facebook, Twitter and other major internet companies have signed a collaborative letter in support of the upcoming net neutrality ruling from the Federal Communications Commission.

iEncyclopedia reports that the FCC ruling is expected to be formally announced this month, and will see equal access being given to all internet users. The rule will ensure that Internet Service Providers are transparent about network management, and will prevent ISPs from discriminating against certain content or applications.

The letter from the Open Internet Coalition states: "We believe a process that results in common sense baseline rules is critical to ensuring that the Internet remains a key engine of economic growth, innovation, and global competitiveness.

"An open Internet fuels a competitive and efficient marketplace, where consumers make the ultimate choices about which products succeed and which fail. This allows businesses of all sizes, from the smallest startup to the larger corporations, to compete, yielding maximum economic growth and opportunity."

While the executives who support the initiative believe that an official net neutrality ruling will help to protect economic growth and creativity online, other organisations - telecom and wireless companies in particular - are claiming that an open internet may serve to repress innovation.

The letter was signed by 24 CEOs of major internet companies, including Eric Schmidt of Google, an outspoken advocate of net neutrality. The letter was also signed by Evan Williams, co-founder of Twitter, and Facebook's founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. Other industry figures putting their names to the ruling include the CEOs of Amazon.com, Digg, eBay, Mozilla, Skype and YouTube, among others.