KEEP THE INTERNET OPEN AND FREE
KEEP THE INTERNET OPEN AND FREE
By Jeanne Larsen
On February 26, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) followed Chairman Tom Wheeler’s plan to base Net Neutrality rules on Title II of the Communications Act, giving internet users the strongest protections possible by making broadband networks open, accessible, reliable and affordable for everyone.
Big corporations like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon are spending huge amounts of money on public relations media blitzes, lobbyists and political campaign donations to convince the public and legislators that Congress must overrule the FCC decision.
According to Free Press at http://www.savetheinternet.com/net-neutrality-what-you-need-know-now, Net Neutrality is the Internet’s guiding principle. It preserves our right to communicate freely online. This is the definition of an open Internet.
Net Neutrality means an Internet that enables and protects free speech. It means Internet Service Providers (ISPs) should provide us with open networks and should not block or discriminate against any applications or content that ride over those networks. Just as phone companies shouldn’t decide who you can call and what you can say on that call, ISPs shouldn’t be concerned with the content you view or post online.
Without Net Neutrality, cable and phone companies could carve the Internet into fast and slow lanes. An ISP could slow down its competitor’s content or block political opinions it disagreed with. ISPs could charge extra fees to the few companies that could afford to pay for preferential treatment, relegating everyone else to a slower tier of service, which would destroy the open Internet.
The bottom line? Big corporations want deregulation so they can monopolize the Internet and charge consumers more for service. Contact your US Congressional legislators to urge them to support the FCC rule on Net Neutrality and not to cave in to the pressures of big corporations, their money and lobbyists.