Washington, D.C. – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today called on the Senate Commerce Committee to resist efforts by some to introduce government control of the Internet.  The committee is expected to vote on “network neutrality” legislation today.

“The Internet has flourished without government meddling, to the point that it benefits almost every area of our lives,” CCAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “Now is not the time for government to step in and dictate how the Internet should evolve.”

Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) have proposed so-called “network neutrality” legislation that would require every bit of Internet traffic to be treated the same, so that customers could not deem some uses of higher priority.

“‘Network neutrality’ is a one-size-fits-all constraint on Internet providers and opens the door to further government control of the Internet,” Schatz continued.  “As more Americans use the Internet for critical applications such as medical monitoring and the need for bandwidth increases, it is critical that the customer – and not the government – determines which traffic is most important.”

Further Internet development depends on the ability of businesses to invest in infrastructure that carries more bandwidth traffic.  Government rules that would limit those investments could set the U.S. further behind other nations in broadband deployment.

“‘Net neutrality’ will harm consumers, stifle innovation, and slow investment.  Proposals that invite government mismanagement of the Internet should be blocked in the Senate Commerce Committee,” Schatz concluded.

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.