Over the past two decades, cities have increased their presence on the internet to provide information and services to constituents. In that time, conducting business online has gone from an amenity to a necessity. Cities have come to rely on the internet as an open medium with the assurance that a service provider will deliver a resident's request for government content just the same as they deliver any other content. The Federal Communications Commission's recent repeal of its Open Internet order violates that principle. Cities cannot allow private internet service providers to be the gatekeeper between our residents and the local government services on which they depend every day.

We each commit our city to take all available steps to ensure the internet remains open and to keep gatekeepers from throttling, blocking or limiting government content on the internet. To that end, to the extent permitted by law and within our control, we will:

1. Procure applicable internet services from companies that do not block, throttle, or provide paid prioritization of content on sites that cities run to provide critical services and information to their residents.

2. Ensure an open internet connection with any free or subsidized service we offer to our residents.

3.  Not block, throttle or engage in paid prioritization when providing internet service directly to our residents, such as through free public Wi-Fi or municipal broadband.

4. To the extent permitted, require clear and accessible notices of filtering, blocking and prioritization policies with enforceable penalties for violations to protect consumers from deceptive practices.

5. Monitor the practices of internet service providers so consumers and regulators can know when a company is violating open internet principles or commitments.

6. Encourage consumer use of ISPs, including municipal options, that abide by open internet policies.