NHMC Responds to Lobbyist Martin Chavez, Questions HTTP’s Corporate Ties

My friend Marty Chavez of the Ibarra Strategy Group and the Hispanic Technology and Telecommunications Partnership (HTTP) responded to a statement I recently made highlighting his participation in a very unbalanced event, hosted on July 9, 2014 by the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute and sponsored by Verizon, AT&T and Comcast, where he and others opposed strong Open Internet rules.

I had questioned whether or not it is appropriate for him to simultaneously represent the interests of corporate clients while asserting that he is working on behalf of the Latino community.

Of the many fabrications, Marty said that ‘most Latino organizations’ oppose the Federal Communications Commission using the sound legal authority found in Title II of the Communications Act to restrict blocking or discrimination online. This is patently false. A number of highly respected Latino organizations have sided with the community and come out in favor of strong Open Internet rules based on Title II authority.