Internet, at this point, is a utility and should be treated as one. The possibility of an internet where you have to pay more to access Google than to access Bing is very real. ISPs like Comcast and Time Warner would love to make internet access tiered the way cable television packages currently are. Please read the article below and add your voice to DearFCC.org.
May 15, 2014 | By April Glaser and corynne mcsherry
Dear FCC: We Will Fight to Protect Net NeutralityToday the FCC is meeting to discuss new rules that could determine the future of network neutrality. There’s been a lot of news circulating about what the FCC’s plan will contain. We’ll have some analysis to share shortly.
In the meantime, though, Internet users need to tell the FCC that we want real net neutrality, and we don’t want net discrimination. Visit DearFCC.org to submit comments to the FCC’s official Open Internet docket. Fill out the form to submit your comments, and tell the FCC you oppose rules that will stifle Internet innovation and creativity.
Personalize it. Tell a story. Let’s make sure the FCC hears us loud and clear: It’s our Internet, and we’re going to fight to protect it.
In the past few months the public pressure has been tremendous. The FCC has been cornered by overwhelming, and negative, public response to reports the new rules will implicitly endorse “internet fast lanes,” allowing Internet providers to discriminate how we access websites by offering an option for web companies to pay to connect to users at faster speeds.
These kinds of “pay to play” access fees, if implemented, would be a disaster for the future of the open Internet. When new innovative websites can’t afford high fees for faster service, they’ll be less likely to reach users and less likely to succeed. The result: a less diverse Internet.
We want the Internet to live up to its promise, fostering in innovation, creativity, and freedom. We don’t want regulations that will turn ISPs into gatekeepers, making special deals with a few companies and inhibiting new competition, innovation and expression.
The good news is we are speaking up. You can join us: please take action now!
Also good news: Congress is starting to ask questions—on May 20th Chairman Wheeler is scheduled to testify in front of the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. At the end of the day, the FCC works for Congress.
That’s why we also need to put the pressure on our representatives not to let the FCC create new rules that threaten the future of our Internet.
We’ll share our analysis of the proposed rules very soon. Go ahead and take action with EFF’s new DearFCC.org and be prepared to visit back again. We’re going to protect our Internet. The FCC has no idea what it’s up against.
via Dear FCC: We Will Fight to Protect Net Neutrality | Electronic Frontier Foundation.