Net Neutrality Redux: Americans Want Certainty; See Tech Giants and ISPs in Similar Light

Sixty-Two Percent of Americans Are Either Unsure or Believe Tech Companies and ISPs Are about the Same When It Comes to Protecting Privacy

San Francisco, CA, December 11, 2017 – After more than a decade of squabbling over so-called Net Neutrality rules, Americans want the issue settled once and for all to create certainty, according to a new survey by technology advocacy group CALinnovates.

Sixty-one percent of Americans, for example, report that creating regulatory certainty is important for the future of the internet and innovation.

But underlying that desire to settle the issue, according to the survey, is a growing sense that the technology companies driving the net neutrality debate aren’t different from their internet service provider opponents. The survey of 1,116 Americans found that:

  • Only slightly more than 1 in 3 Americans saw a difference between tech companies such as Google and Facebook and ISPs such as Verizon when it came to protecting their privacy. In fact, 62 percent reported that they are about the same or are not sure.
  • When it came to which companies they are more likely to trust, ISPs such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast (20%) were slightly ahead of tech companies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter (18%). Overall, 50 percent of Americans said they trust or distrust them about equally.
  • And when it came to which of the sectors had the most to gain from net neutrality, it was again even. Sixteen percent of Americans thought tech companies because they want to maintain access as cheaply as possible, while the same amount said ISPs because they don’t want rules imposed on them.

“Americans intuitively understand that this never-ending game of policy pingpong over net neutrality must come to an end so consumers and the tech ecosystem can move on and focus fully on making magic,” said Mike Montgomery, Executive Director of CALinnovates. “With yet another FCC vote ahead, it’s time to bring this to a conclusion so we can get on with the business of innovating and delivering services consumers want.”

What the survey data reflects is the issues’ complexity and Americans’ struggle to understand its impact. Nearly the same number of Americans said they don’t understand the issue (45 percent) as said they do (48 percent).

But even if many don’t completely grasp net neutrality , they are looking for leadership from Washington to sort it out once and for all. And whatever happens, 82 percent of Americans want the FCC, which is slated to vote on net neutrality rules shortly, to be transparent about the proposed rule changes in advance of a vote.

The CALinnovates survey of 1,116 Americans was conducted from Nov. 27-Nov. 30 and has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.

ABOUT CALINNOVATES

CALinnovates is a non-partisan technology advocacy coalition of tech companies, founders, funders and nonprofits.