CUB Supports Net Neutrality for Oregon Via House Bill 4155

Help CUB fight for Net Neutrality by signing on to our testimony in support of Oregon House Bill (HB) 4155 – proposed legislation that would ensure a “net neutral” Oregon. CUB was present at a public hearing, and offered testimony, before the House Committee on Rules on Tuesday, February 13. We will continue advocating for HB 4155 with key legislators and ally groups at all future hearings.

As Oregon’s residential utility customer advocate, CUB has supported the maintenance of a fair, safe, reliable, and “open” Internet for Oregonians going back to the 1990s. For instance, CUB publicly backed the City of Portland’s fight with AT&T in 1998 over the company’s inappropriate attempts to prohibit local customers from enjoying “open access to the Internet”.

This first battle, waged in Portland, presaged the now 20-year debate around what advocates today more commonly refer to as “net neutrality”, which came to a head last spring at the Federal level. Regrettably, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) signaled intentions to roll back their own landmark net neutrality rules, enshrined in the 2015 Open Internet Order, and replace them with – well – absolutely nothing. While CUB vigorously opposed such anti-consumer efforts (read up on this history in our June 2017 blog), the FCC took the final step in repealing core provisions of the 2015 order in December of last year.

This decision sets the stage for state and local-jurisdictional action. Introduced by House Democratic Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson, HB 4155 instructs the State of Oregon, as well as local government bodies (municipalities, counties, public utility districts), and special government bodies (school and education districts, public corporations) to enter into contracts only with Internet service providers that are maintaining neutral networks.

The state government’s contractual clout suggests that HB 4155 would protect Oregon Internet customers from service providers who would seek to otherwise take steps to block legal content, prioritize certain Internet content for payment, or inappropriately throttle speeds.

HB 4155 initially took aim at addressing both net neutrality and Internet privacy concerns. However, given the current, “short” (six-week) legislative session, the decision was recently made to strategically focus the bill on addressing net neutrality alone.

The tough reality is that during short legislative sessions, which occur during even-numbered years, it is often necessary to take the path of least legislative resistance. And, for better or worse, that path in 2018 points to net neutrality as a stand-alone issue. Nevertheless, CUB is fully committed to future work on the bill’s original Internet privacy provisions.

CUB is pleased to collaborate on this issue with ACLU of Oregon, as well as a rapidly growing list of ally groups. But we still need help! Here is what you can do:

1. Sign on to CUB’s testimony in support of HB 4155 by visiting our Action Alert page.
2. If you represent an organization or political entity that supports net neutrality, fill out your information using the following form to receive campaign updates, suggested talking points, and more.
3. Attend a rally for net neutrality in Oregon at the State Capital at noon on Friday, February 23. CUB and a wide range of other groups are joining together to co-sponsor the rally. You can find more details about the rally on our Events Calendar.
4. Join CUB’s e-newsletter list and monitor our blog for ongoing updates.

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