November 27, 2017
The Honorable Ajit Pai
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street SW
Washington, DC 20554
Dear Chairman Pai,
This holiday season, millions of Americans will shop online, searching for the best deals, finding the perfect gifts for their loved ones, and supporting businesses large and small across the United States. Cyber Monday is a testament to the power of the free and open internet to encourage entrepreneurship, drive innovation, make our lives easier, and to support a healthy economy.
Last year, Americans spent almost $3.5 billion online on Cyber Monday, making it the largest online sales day in history. Each year this number increases, with last year’s sales growing more than 10 percent over 2015. Even Black Friday is becoming an online shopping day with more than $3 billion in online sales. E-commerce continues to grow and nearly $400 billion in retail sales were online last year. The internet is increasingly where commerce happens.
This economic growth is possible because of the free and open internet. Our current net neutrality rules support innovation and give all businesses the opportunity to compete equally for consumers. With strong net neutrality protections, the internet is an open marketplace where any business can compete, allowing individuals to start companies easily, market their products across the country, and connect with customers anywhere worldwide.
Because of the open internet, a web developer can launch a business out of their own apartment, an aspiring fashion designer in Wyoming can sell clothes in Los Angeles, or a caterer can find new customers in their town. Because of net neutrality, consumers and businesses have unfettered access to one another, increasing competition and consumer choice.
Disastrously, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last week released a draft order that would end this open commerce by repealing the current net neutrality rules and eliminating the protections that keep the internet free and open for America’s businesses and consumers.
Without these rules, internet service providers will be able to favor certain websites and e-businesses, or the platforms they use to garner new customers, over others by putting the ones that can pay in fast lanes and slowing down or even blocking others. Businesses may have to pay a toll just to reach customers. This would put small and medium-sized businesses at a disadvantage and prevent innovative new ones from even getting off the ground. An internet without net neutrality protections would be the opposite of the open market, with a few powerful cable and phone companies picking winners and losers instead of consumers.
Today, on the busiest online shopping day of the year, we, the undersigned businesses and trade associations, urge the FCC to maintain the current net neutrality rules and Title II classification of broadband internet. The current rules provide the protections necessary to protect net neutrality and ensure the internet remains a free and open marketplace that encourages innovation and supports robust competition.
The FCC should vote against this order that rolls back the net neutrality rules just as Americans across the country spend billions online this holiday season.
4 Lil’ Monkeys Customs, LLC
Shepherdsville, KY
60secondz
Kansas City, KS
9 Clouds
Sioux Falls, SD
Ad Hoc Labs, Inc.
Los Angeles, CA
Admiral
Gainesville, FL
AdRoll, Inc.
San Francisco, CA
Agile Learning Labs
San Mateo, CA
Airbnb
San Francisco, CA
Alloy
New York, NY
American Sustainable Business Council
Washington, DC
AMK
Chicago, IL
Antecedent Ventures
New York, NY
Applied Systems
San Francisco, CA
appliedVR
Los Angeles, CA
Are.na
New York, NY
Audtra Benefit Corp.
New York, NY
Authentise, Inc.
Sandy, UT
Automattic
San Francisco, CA
Betabrand
San Francisco, CA
Binary Formations, LLC
Mechanicsville, VA
BlazingDB
Austin, TX
Blue Sky Telecom
Oro Valley, AZ
Bluebill Advisors, Inc.
Boston, MA
Bolt
San Francisco, CA
Bonusly
Boulder, CO
Bookstr.com
New York, NY
Bow Bridge
Cambridge, MA
Boxed
New York, NY
bridge21
Denver, CO
Broadside, LLC
Woodinville, WA
Burlington Telecom
Burlington, VT
Call the Ninja
Eugene, OR
CallRail, Inc.
Atlanta, GA
Cantora
New York, NY
CapSen Robotics
Pittsburgh, PA
Cardigan, LLC
Madison, WI
Carmagno & Associates
Chicago, IL
Catalog Design Studios
Providence, RI
Catalog University
South Portland, ME
Cerebus Enterprises
Cleveland, OH
Chamberlin Research
Little Rock, AR
Charles Goorsky Services
Duluth, GA
Chemical BioSolids, LLC
Little Rock, AR
Chuck Daddy Tech Solutions
Boulder, CO
Chute Corporation
San Francisco, CA
CITM
Jacksonville, NH
Civic Hall Labs
New York, NY
Cloudy
Chicago, IL
Codapillar Inc.
New York, NY
Codecademy
New York, NY
CodeSpa
San Francisco, CA
Collaborative Seed & Growth Partners, LLC
Weston, MA
Connect4Business, Inc.
Little Rock, AR
Contextly, Inc
San Francisco, CA
Corazon Capital
Chicago, IL
Cosmunity, Inc .
Dallas, TX
Crayon
Boston, MA
Cribspot
Ann Arbor, MI
CrowdMed
Scottsdale, AZ
D3FY, LLC
Phoenix, AZ
Darling, Inc.
Chicago, IL
Dayna McCants
Hartford, CT
DDL
Centennial, CO
DevOps, LLC
Boulder, CO
Diassess, Inc.
Emeryville, CA
DKParker, LLC
Seattle, WA
Dream Machine
San Francisco, CA
DroneTV.com
Los Angeles, CA
Dwolla
Des Moines, IA
Earned, LLC
Longmont, CO
Electronic Gaming Federation, Inc.
New York, NY
Ender Swift, LLC
Annville, PA
Engine
Washington, DC
Enosis VR
West Hollywood, CA
ePhysics Technologies
Montville, NJ
Etsy, Inc.
Brooklyn, NY
evenQ, Inc.
San Francisco, CA
Evo, Inc
Wilmington DE
Expa
New York, NY
Ezra Innovations
Little Rock, AR
Felipe Lara Art and Creative Direction
Los Angeles, CA
Filament
Reno, NV
FoosterNET, LLC
Clemson, SC
Fortissimo Retail
New York, NY
Founder Academy
Sacramento, CA
FounderTherapy
New York, NY
Foursquare
New York, NY
fPrime Analytics
San Francisco, CA
Gandi US, Inc.
San Francisco, CA
GeekGirlWeb, LLC
New York, NY
General Assembly Space, Inc.
New York, NY
GitHub
San Francisco, CA
Govlish
Washington, DC
Green Electrical Supply
Auburn Hills, MI
Grommet Software, Inc
Centennial, CO
GrooveJar
Boston, MA
GroundSource
St. Paul, MN
Grubbly Farms
Atlanta, GA
Gust
New York, NY
Gusto
San Francisco, CA
Halo Industries, Inc.
San Mateo, CA
Hangar
New York, NY
Haystack TV, Inc.
Redwood City, CA
Heart Computers
Olympia, WA
HelloSign
San Francisco, CA
Hendren Consulting
Little Rock, AR
IAS
New York, NY
Inland Northwest Technology Alliance
Spokane, WA
InvitedHome
Boulder, CO
Ionic
Madison, WI
JAB Ventures
Boston, MA
Jack Jr. Ventures
Boston, MA
Just Bobbin Along
Circleville, OH
Kansas City Startup Foundation
Kansas City, KS
Karma+, Inc.
Oakland, CA
Knotel
New York, NY
Lace And Sneakers
Grand Prairie, TX
Lean Team Tuning, LLC
New York, NY
LEAP Associates
Libertyville, IL
Lemonly
Sioux Falls, SD
LendUp
San Francisco, CA
Lightstream
Chicago, IL
Listen.MD
Denver, CO
Loop & Tie
Austin, TX
LuzFaltex
Kansas City, KS
LYK, Inc.
Manhasset, NY
MadKudu
Mountain View, CA
MageMail
Boston, MA
Mapbox
Washington, DC
Maple Leaf Strings
Cincinnati, OH
Market Mic, LLC
St. Louis, MO
MATH Venture Partners
Chicago, IL
Mayfield Robotics
Redwood City, CA
Meditel360, LLC
Huntington Station, NY
Megaphone TV
New York, NY
Meta, LLC
Portland, OR
Meteor Development Group
San Francisco, CA
MicroHealth, Inc.
New York, NY
MJK Partners, LLC
Cambridge, MA
Mobilitus Inc.
Portland, OR
Moja, LLC
Grand Rapids, MI
Movista, LLC
Bentonville, AR
Moz
Seattle, WA
Naytev
San Francisco, CA
Neighborland
Boulder, CO
Neolith Graphics
San Diego CA
NerdGeekHero
San Francisco, CA
NetBeez, Inc.
Pittsburgh, PA
Netsyms Technologies
Helena, MT
Nexosis, Inc.
Columbus, Ohio
nio Innovation, LLC
Broomfield, CO
NorthwestHDD.com
Eugene, OR
Notify.io (Socialscope)
San Francisco, CA
NourishWise
Nashville, TN
NYC Seed
New York, NY
OfficeNinjas
Oakland, CA
Onfleet, Inc.
San Francisco, CA
Pampered Princess
McCammon, ID
panOpen
New York, NY
PatientBank
San Francisco, CA
Photofeeler
Boulder, CO
Pillar Technologies
New York, NY
pingWHEN
Boulder, CO
Pinterest
San Francisco, CA
Plickers
San Francisco, CA
Pool Orchard
Modesto, CA
Private Internet Access
Denver, CO
Proto Venture Technology
Chesterfield, NJ
Q & A, Inc.
Kahului, HI
Quotient
Columbia, Maryland
RB Creative Services
Boise, ID
Reddit, Inc.
San Francisco, CA
Rex Animal Health
Kansas City, KS
Robert Clayton & Associates, Inc.
Naperville, IL
Rocket Referrals
Des Moines, IA
RRE Ventures
New York, NY
Runkeeper
Boston, MA
Sandwich.Net, LLC
Minneapolis, MN
ScienceDriven
Roxbury, MA
Scout.ai
Seattle, WA
Seeds Inc.
San Francisco, CA
Shapeways
New York, NY
Shift Labs
Seattle, WA
shopkick, Inc.
Redwood City, CA
Shutterstock, Inc.
New York, NY
Simply Made Apps, Inc.
Fargo, ND
Skrach Capital
Miami, FL
SlidesUp
Boston, MA
Small Business Advocacy Council
Chicago, Illinois
SoleSpace, LLC
Oakland, CA
Sonic
Santa Rosa, CA
Sonos
Santa Barbara, CA
Soteria, LLC
Little Rock, AR
Spain Business Advisors
Cary, NC
Sphero
Boulder, CO
Square, Inc.
San Francisco, CA
Squarespace, Inc.
New York, NY
Stack Overflow
New York, NY
StackSource, Inc.
New York, NY
Stasis Labs
LA, CA
Story2
New York, NY
Streetography
Menlo Park, CA
Styalquin
Providence, RI
Sultan Ventures
Honolulu, HI
SV Angel
San Francisco, CA
Svaha, LLC
Ellsworth, ME
Synanomet, LLC
Little Rock, AR
TeamSnap, Inc.
Boulder, CO
Tenta, LLC
Seattle, WA
Tesorio
Burlingame, CA
The Designer’s Zoo
Spruce Pine, AL
The Food Corridor
Fort Collins, CO
The Hornstein Law Office, P.C.
Wilmette, IL
The Meme Factory, Inc.
Chicago, IL
The Receptionist
Denver, CO
Thread Genius
New York, NY
Thunkable
San Francisco, CA
Ting
Starkville, MS
Titanez.net
Spokane, WA
TMBLAKES
Reno, NV
Trejure Corporation
Oakland, CA
TrueAbility, Inc .
San Antonio, TX
Trulight Trace, DBA FleetUp
Milpitas, CA
Tumblr
New York, NY
Twilio
San Francisco, CA
Twitter, Inc.
San Francisco, CA
Uncork Capital
Palo Alto, CA
Ushahidi
Boulder, Colorado
Valid Evaluation, Inc.
Denver, CO
Vaporware, Inc.
Raleigh, NC
Venrock
New York, NY
Vimeo, Inc.
New York, NY
Voatz
Boston, MA
WACMA, LLC
Chelmsford, MA
White Lioness Coaching, LLC
Coconut Creek, FL
Write.as
Jacksonville, FL
X-Lab
Washington, DC
xeebi
San Francisco, CA
XLR8UH
Honolulu, HI
You Got Listings, Inc.
Walnut, CA
