Chairman of U.S. Bishops’ Conference Committee on Communications Voices Strong Support for Net Neutrality Protections

WASHINGTON—Bishop Christopher Coyne of Burlington, Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Communications, is urging the retention of an open internet in the wake of a Federal Communications Commission proposal unveiled last week that would repeal protections intended to keep the internet open and fair. The concept of an open internet has long been called "net neutrality," in which internet service providers neither favor nor discriminate against internet users or websites. Bishop Coyne continues to voice strong support for net neutrality protections in a statement in response to last week's proposed FCC action.

Bishop Coyne's full statement follows:

"Strong net neutrality protections are critical to the faith community to function and connect with our members, essential to protect and enhance the ability of vulnerable communities to use advanced technology, and necessary for any organization that seeks to organize, advocate for justice or bear witness in the crowded and over-commercialized media environment.

Robust internet protections are vital to enable our Archdioceses, Dioceses, and Eparchies, our parishes, schools and other institutions to communicate with each other and our members, to share religious and spiritual teachings, to promote activities online, and to engage people – particularly younger persons – in our ministries. Without open internet principles which prohibit paid prioritization, we might be forced to pay fees to ensure that our high-bandwidth content receives fair treatment on the internet. Non-profit communities, both religious and secular, cannot afford to pay to compete with profitable commercialized content."

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Keywords: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, Bishop Christopher Coyne, Committee on Communications, Federal Communications Commission, Internet, net neutrality

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