Washington D.C., May 24, 2006 / 22:00 pm
The Internet is “a critical medium for religious speech” and there should be legislation in place to prevent Internet-access providers from interfering with Web content, said Bishop Gerald Kicanas in a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Unless there are in place protections against Internet-access providers’ control over content, noncommercial religious speech on the Internet is threatened,” said the bishop in his May 23 letter. Bishop Kicanas serves as the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Communications Committee.
Bishop Kicanas urged that such protections, termed “net neutrality requirements,” be included in the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act. As approved by the House Subcommittee, the bill lacks net neutrality protections.
“Those protections have particular importance for religious organizations which must rely on the Internet to convey information on matters of faith and on the services they provide to the public,” Bishop Kicanas said.