Clyburn, in Final Address, Excoriates Title II Rollback, Inmate Calling Rules

rural areas or low-income urban areas is "antithetical to our values." She urged reinstitution of Title II regulation of the internet, saying the FCC's 2015 net neutrality rules were "based on well-reasoned and time-tested common carriage principles," especially since broadband is "on par with" water, electricity and telephones as a component of critical national infrastructure. She said the "broken inmate calling regime" is "as close as it gets" to evil. She said inmate calling isn't just a financial issue but touches on problems of mass incarceration, and seeking change goes hand in hand with promoting rehabilitation and reducing recidivism, she said. Clyburn also said the momentum is in the wrong direction in recent years on media consolidation and diversity. The response, she said, is, "We fight harder. We shout louder. We escalate." A lot of what the FCC does is technical and not followed by the public, but "it is a doorway to larger battles of equity taking place across this country," Clyburn said. The speech at Washington's First Congregational United Church of Christ (UCC) was sponsored by organizations including Common Cause, Color of Change, National Hispanic Media Coalition and the UCC Office of Communication. Among those in attendance were Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, former Commissioner Michael Copps; Free Press President Craig Aaron; Public Knowledge President Gene Kimmelman; and Clyburn's father, Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.