Mozilla, along with ADT, Dropbox, Eventbrite, Reddit, Vimeo, and Wikimedia, sent a letter to the FCC in which they asked the agency to reinstate net neutrality in the United States as a matter of urgency.
The letter was sent to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, who was selected by President Joe Biden to run the Federal Communications Commission. She was already on the Commission, and is currently Acting Charwoman of the FCC.
In January of 2020, Ajit Pai stepped down from the FCC. He was the one who oversaw the rollback of net neutrality during the Trump administration. As such, now seems like a very good time for Mozilla (and others) to push for net neutrality.
Here is a piece from the letter sent to Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel:
We are writing to express our support for the reinstatement of net neutrality protections through Federal Communications Commission (FCC) action. As leading internet-used businesses and organizations, we believe that these fundamental safeguards are critical for preserving the internet as a free and open medium that promotes innovation and spurs economic growth. Net Neutrality enjoys bipartisan support among the American public, and many may need to rely on protections enforced by the FCC as more offices and classrooms continue to shift online settings during the pandemic. By using its authority to restore net neutrality at the federal level, the FCC can help protect families and businesses across the country that rely on high-speed broadband access and help spark our recovery.
Mozilla pointed out in their blog post that in California residents will have the benefits of net neutrality safeguards as the result of a recent court decision that will allow California to enforce its own state net neutrality law.
Mozilla made it clear that they believe that internet users nationwide deserve the same ability to control their own online experiences. They also emphasized that there is no reason to further delay the reinstatement of net neutrality once the FCC is in working order.
To me, “working order” could be a referring to the fact that there currently are two Democrats (Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks) and two Republicans (Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington). This could potentially lead to “gridlock” on major decisions. There is one vacant seat, and President Biden has the ability to choose who will fill it.