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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Media Contact:
Judy Keane
202-541-3200

Source:: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops