Poll: Americans Overwhelmingly Support Net Neutrality
Mozilla’s survey also reveals that a majority of Americans do not trust the government to protect Internet access
There’s something that Americans of varied political affiliations — Democrats, Republicans and Independents — largely agree on: the need to protect net neutrality.
A recent public opinion poll carried out by Mozilla and Ipsos revealed overwhelming support across party lines for net neutrality, with over three quarters of Americans (76%) supporting net neutrality. Eighty-one percent of Democrats and 73% of Republicans are in favor of it.
Another key finding: Most Americans do not trust the U.S. government to protect access to the Internet. Seventy percent of Americans place no or little trust in the Trump administration or Congress (78%) to do so.
Mozilla and Ipsos carried out the poll in late May, on the heels of the FCC’s vote to begin dismantling Obama-era net neutrality rules. We polled approximately 1,000 American adults across the U.S., a sample that included 354 Democrats, 344 Republicans, and 224 Independents.
At Mozilla, we believe net neutrality is integral to a healthy Internet: it enables Americans to say, watch and make what they want online, without meddling or interference from ISPs (Internet Service Providers, such as AT&T, Verizon, and Time Warner). Net neutrality is fundamental to free speech, competition, innovation and choice online.
As you may have seen, the FCC has proposed rolling back net neutrality protections that were enacted in 2015, and will collect public comments on net neutrality through August 18th. Then, hopefully drawing on those comments, the FCC will vote whether to adopt the order and strip their ability to create net neutrality rules.
In the coming months, Mozilla will continue to work with the majority of Americans who endorse net neutrality. We will directly engage with key policymakers. We will continue our advocacy work — like our net neutrality petition, which has garnered more than 100,000 signatures and over 50 hours of voicemail messages for the FCC (just a few of the almost five million comments on the order). And Mozilla will participate in the July 12 Day of Action, joining Fight for the Future, Free Press, Demand Progress and others to call for all Internet users to defend net neutrality.
Below, more key findings from the poll:
— Respondents across the political spectrum (78%) believe that equal access to the Internet is a right, with large majorities of Democrats (88%), Independents (71%), and Republicans (67%) in agreement
— Respondents have little trust in government institutions to protect their access to the Internet. The highest levels of distrust were reported for the Trump administration (70%), Congress (78%) and the FCC (58%)
— When it comes to corporations protecting access to the Internet, 54% of respondents distrust ISPs
— Americans view net neutrality as having a positive impact on most of society. Respondents said it is a “good thing” for small businesses (70%), individuals (69%), innovators (65%) and ISPs (55%), but fewer think that it will benefit big businesses (46%)
To see the full poll results, click here.
