AT&T Says Net Neutrality DOA Stance 'Confounded' Organizers; GOP Senators Seek Answers From Twitter
AT&T said its decision to join June 12's net neutrality "Day of Action" (see 1707120017) "confounded" organizers. Despite "years" of AT&T open internet support, there was "much seething" from "the Fight for the Future crowd," accusing the telco of "a…
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deliberate attempt to mislead the public, all because we share a common goal but do not embrace common means," blogged Senior Vice President Joan Marsh Wednesday. "Things got weirder" as Twitter effectively blocked tweets of an AT&T blog and other content for several hours, which Twitter blamed on an anti-spam filter "glitch." Twitter told us "the account was erroneously caught in Twitter's anti-spam filters and the glitch was fixed." Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said Twitter should “partner with Congress on a real solution to codify open internet principles. ... It is not difficult to imagine the outrage that would have occurred had an [ISP] experienced a 'glitch' that blocked Twitter” or other tech firms that favor keeping the rules. Net neutrality supporters “do not need a day of action to get Republicans to the negotiation table” on a bipartisan bill, the senators wrote to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. “We sit ready and waiting for a real, factually informed discussion.” House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., plans a Sept. 7 hearing with the heads of Google parent Alphabet, AT&T, Netflix and others aimed at promoting net neutrality legislation amid perceptions of lack of appetite among Democrats to negotiate (see 1707130063 and 1707250059).