Net Neutrality, Civil Rights, and Big Telecom Dollars

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[Commentary] David Honig is the man behind the curtain when it comes to civil rights organizations lining up behind telecom-friendly positions. Honig, and the organizations he has organized, are again advocating for fast and slow lanes on the Internet, a position that puts them in line with the interest of the large Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and in opposition to the communities they claim to serve.

While most of you have probably never heard of Honig, there is no more significant player in DC when it comes to telecom policy and the major civil rights organizations in this country. And Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler, who is leading the FCC in determining the fate of the Internet, has treated Honig and his organization as legitimate. As reporters recently began calling out the connections between his organization, Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC), civil rights groups, the telecom money they all receive, and their surprising policy positions, Honig responded by calling the reporting outrageous, insulting, and racist -- calling those pointing out the relationships a "digital lynch mob." It is to shine a light on the greater dynamics in play around the deployment of our civil rights organizations in support of a corporate agenda that is not in line with the interests of our community.


Net Neutrality, Civil Rights, and Big Telecom Dollars