Consumer Groups Tied to Industry

CONSUMER GROUPS TIED TO INDUSTRY
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Dionne Searcey dionne.searcey@wsj.com]
A number of lobbying groups that claim to represent consumer interests are backed by phone and cable companies promoting their corporate agendas, according to a report from consumer group Common Cause. The report, expected to be released today, cites groups such as Consumers for Cable Choice, which calls itself an "alliance of consumer advocacy groups, private citizens and others." The group, which pushes for laws that would let phone companies roll out television service easier, has received financial support from Verizon and AT&T, according to both Common Cause and the group itself. "These corporation-backed groups are shamelessly working to convince Congress that there is widespread public and scholarly support for their policy proposals," the Common Cause report says. "Unfortunately almost all of the debate over telecom reform is happening between telephone, cable and Internet industry interests." Lobbying groups whose intentions aren't immediately clear are neither new nor unique to the telecom and cable industries. But such groups, which Common Cause labels "astroturf" because they falsely purport to represent grassroots interests, have proliferated as Congress considers a host of bills that could have sweeping impact on the telecom industry. Common Cause named nine lobbying groups that are focusing on possible legislative changes such as whether to allow communities to deploy their own wireless networks that would directly compete with phone and cable companies as well as whether to block network providers from charging content providers to pay for speedy deliver of their services. One particularly controversial issue is whether to let phone companies roll out TV without asking permission from local governments, as cable companies must do. Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a Washington group that promotes a so-called democratic broadband access, said policymakers often have no idea that the lobbying groups are affiliated with corporations when they receive letters and hear testimony from them. Common Cause is a nonprofit organization with a lobbying arm and an education fund. It doesn't disclose names of donors. Common Cause says it doesn't support any lobbying groups for its causes.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114351167476409676.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
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See "Wolves in Sheep's Clothing: Telecom Industry Front Groups and Astroturf"
http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=1499059