Tumblr CEO David Karp was also a member of a group of New York tech CEOs that attended with then-FCC chairman Tom Wheeler in Brooklyn that summertime, while the FCC was fielding public commentary on new Title II rules. President Obama invited Karp to the White House to address various issues around public education, and in February 2015 The Wall Street Journal stated that it was the influence of Karp and a small group of radical tech CEOs that swayed Obama toward a knowledge of internet as a public utility.But three years later, as the battle for net neutrality heats up once again, Tumblr has been uncharacteristically silent. The last mention of net neutrality on Tumblr’s staff blog — which frequently posts about political issues from civil rights to climate change to gun control to student loan debt — was in June 2016. And Tumblr is not listed as a participating tech company for Battle for the Net’s next day of action, coming up in three weeks.
Barely three years later, as the battle for net neutrality warms up once again, Tumblr has been uncharacteristically calm. The last mention of net neutrality on Tumblr’s staff blog which often posts about political issues of civil rights to climate change to gun control to student loan debt as of June 2016. And Tumblr is not listed as a participating tech company for Battle for the Net’s Neutrality day of action, arriving up in three weeks.
A spokesperson for Battle for the Net Neutrality told News in an email, “Outreach for the day of battle is very much an intense and ongoing process… I wouldn’t put too much into who is and isn’t on the list so far.” Still, a rep for Tumblr refused to comment on whether the company would be participating, and AOL’s senior VP of brand communications Caroline Campbell replied to a query about whether Tumblr would maintain its position on net neutrality, writing “It’s just too early to answer your question.”
One cause for Karp and Tumblr’s silence? Last week Verizon made its acquisition of Tumblr parent company Yahoo, hitting off the subsequent merger of Yahoo and AOL to create a new company called Oath. As one of the world’s biggest ISPs, Verizon is notorious for disputing the principles of net neutrality it sued the FCC in an effort to reverse net neutrality rules in 2011, and its general counsel Kathy Grillo wrote a note this April complimenting new FCC chairman Ajit Pai’s plan to decrease telecommunication regulations.
Now, multiple sources tell Journalists that employees are concerned that Karp has been restrained from speaking publicly on the issue, and one engineer sent that Karp told a group of engineers and engineering directors as much in a weekly meeting that took place soon after SXSW. “Karp has spoken about the net neutrality stuff internally, but won’t commit to backing it externally anymore,” the engineer said. “He assures us that he is never gonna stop trying to fight for the ability to fight for it openly.” Karp did not respond to emails asking for comment, and neither Yahoo nor Tumblr would speak about the topic on the record.
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