Etsy, Kickstarter among founding members of ‘Internet Freedom Business Alliance’

It’s got a placeholder website and a former Republican member of Congress at its helm: the Internet Freedom Business Alliance has launched — and two of Brooklyn’s best known names are among its founding members: Kickstarter and Etsy.

The priorities for this new group are reported to be fending off Internet fast lanes, according to The Hill.

The full list includes other well known brands that have moved from “startup” to “going concern,” such as Tumblr, Reddit and Meetup.

This is a major step toward getting official for these companies, which up to now have primarily used their influence online to counter cable’s influence in the halls of D.C.

Lobbying disclosure forms show that at least five people from the lobbying firm Jochum Shore & Trossevin have been assigned to the IFBA’s account.

Read all of our net neutrality coverage

If you want to have your own say, Common Cause and a coalition of nonprofits are organizing a people’s hearing on net neutrality at the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library on Oct. 27. Come out to “New York Speaks: A Hearing on Our Rights to Connect and Communicate.”