Save the Internet - Protect Net Neutrality.
The Internet as we know it is an information superhighway where everyone has equal access.
Internet uses have control of what they see and do on the Internet.
Content providers are equally accessible.
As an Internet user, you can view an individual’s website just as easily as you can view the website of a multinational corporation.
This concept of equal access is known as Net Neutrality.
An underlying principle of Net Neutrality is that all content, all platforms, and all websites are equal and equally accessible.
Net Neutrality keeps the companies who control Internet access from exerting control over content and accessibility on the basis of source or ownership.
Net Neutrality and the freedom it represents is being threatened. In the absence of legislation requiring enforceable Net Neutrality, there is a very real possibility that equality of access will become a thing of the past.
Internet gatekeeper organizations, such as the telecommunications and cable monopolies who control virtually all Internet access, favor building a two-tiered system that can determine whose content is available to Internet users, and how quickly it becomes available.
In the absence of enforceable Net Neutrality, Internet Service Providers will be able to choose to block or degrade access to websites and applications at will. Should this occur, the end result will be an Internet where users no longer control what they see and do online.
Why would an Internet gatekeeper block or degrade access to some websites? The reasons are financial. Highest tier access would be provided to those content providers who can and do pay for the privilege.
Internet users will still be able to easily access the websites of large organizations that choose to pay for highest tier access. However, the websites of individuals and smaller organizations who can’t pay will become less accessible or even inaccessible. Preferred treatment will be given to content providers with the deepest pockets.
Exposure to content on the Internet will become similar to exposure to broadcast advertising. When we watch television, we see advertisements from companies who pay to place their messages where we are likely to see them.
With a tired system of Internet content accessibility, when we go online, we will be able to see content from companies who pay to place their websites and applications where we can get to them.
Additionally, many Internet Service Providers are diversifying their businesses. An Internet Service Provider who owns or has a financial interest in a particular search engine would definitely benefit from encouraging subscribers to use its search engine over those of its competitors.
Encouragement is one thing; forcing is quite another. Without enforceable Net Neutrality, it would be possible for an Internet Service Provider to literally degrade or block access to the search engines of its competitors.
The same is true with other Internet applications, such as Voice over Internet Protocol. An Internet Service Provider that enters the VoIP market could make it difficult or impossible for its subscribers to use the VoIP services of its competitors.
Net Neutrality is about protecting freedom of speech and open communication. Enforceable Net Neutrality will preserve free and open communication on the Internet.
It will prevent your Internet Service Provider from blocking or degrading access to specific websites.
Do you think the cable and telecommunications industry should be able to control what content you can see and services you can access on the Internet?
Do you care about being able to surf the Internet freely?
To let your voice be heard, go to http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet right now, and send a message to your senatorial and congressional representatives urging them to preserve a free and open Internet by voting for enforceable Net Neutrality.
