Ed Markey: “I thank the Senator from New Hampshire for her incredible leadership on this issue. I know she had a huge forum with…”

“I thank the Senator from New Hampshire for her incredible leadership on this issue. I know she had a huge forum with small businesses up in New Hampshire that reflected the need to ensure that we had an open and free internet. As we talk about net neutrality, I think many people wonder: What does that mean? What does ``net neutrality'' mean exactly? Well, the way to think about it is, instead of saying the words ``net neutrality,'' you say the word ``nondiscrimination,'' because that is what we are talking about. We are talking about whether you are an individual or you are a small firm and you are using the internet in order to have your voice heard, in order to start up a business and that you are not discriminated against just because you are a small voice; that you are not discriminated against because you are not some huge corporation; that, in this internet era, you are important and you can't be discriminated against. That is what this debate is all about. Now, how does that reflect the state of commerce online in America today? Well, for example, last year in the United States--this is an incredible number--half of all venture capital in America went to internet and software startups or internet and software companies in their beginning stages. Think about that. That is half of all venture capital. Who gets that money?…”