Category: Technology

Please contact Congress through this web site. This is serious shite. Please spread the word.
Here are the Companies supporting this effort (http://www.itsournet.org/About_Us.php).

It’s Our Net

The giant phone and cable companies are trying to take control of the Internet away from the public and convert it into their own private, corporate network They’re boasting that they’ll create premium lanes on the Internet so that people who can pay get seen and those who can’t don’t. Tell Congress to keep the Internet open and free and to protect the rights of users to see what you want to see and go anywhere you want to go on the Internet just as you can today.

Consumers
If you are a consumer; a Mom looking for healthcare information to protect your family; a home-school parent using the Internet as part of your education plan; an email user staying in touch with your family and friends – you will have a degraded slower Internet experience with certain Web sites. Some Web sites will even be unavailable unless additional fees are paid.

Small Business
If you are a small business, you may not be able to survive online. If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, you may be impeded from providing and getting the word out of the “next big thing” on the Internet.

Schools & Churches
If you are a small non-profit organization, like a church or a school, you may not be able to get your messages out to congregants or student families without paying more.
This fall, if Congress does not act, all of those things could happen.

* How Did it Happen?
* What Happens if Congress Destroys Net Neutrality?
* What Should Congress Do?

How it happened
Last year, the phone and cable companies convinced the Federal Communications Commission and the Courts to change how the Internet is operated, making a few unelected officials responsible for a decision with billions of dollars of impact for millions of Internet consumers.
These decisions reversed the safeguards that made the Internet so great � the freedom known as �Net Neutrality,� which allows you to go anywhere you want to go on the Internet. The Internet was designed by American universities, and made available to the general public over an open platform that required phone and cable companies to treat all traffic in a neutral manner.

Now, however, the phone and cable companies boast that they will create premium lanes on the Internet for higher fees, and give preferential access to their own services and those VIPs who can afford to �pay to play.� They have already blocked certain services and have the power to block or degrade any service that competes with them:

* Do you want the phone and cable companies to block online movies or cheaper phone service over the Internet?
* Do you want the phone and cable companies to decide which blogs or political sites you can access?
* Do you want phone and cable companies to give preferential Internet access to companies who pay more for �premium� delivery?
* Do you want phone and cable companies to keep new innovations off the Internet?

If you answered no to any of these questions, then Congress needs to hear from you.

What Happens if Congress Destroys Net Neutrality?
If Congress caves in to the telephone and cable companies� power grab, they will use that power to dictate your content. The Net as we know it will be radically altered. Destroying Net Neutrality would result in:

* Discrimination � Phone and cable companies will be able to steer you to Web content and services that they own or have exclusive deals with.
* Higher Costs � If content providers are charged new fees to �ensure� that you can view their sites, they will pass these fees through to consumers like you and small businesses.
* Reduced Investment � Investors will have little reason to support new, Internet-based content and services if there is no guarantee they can even get on the net. Innovation will plummet.
* Compromised Global Competitiveness – The US will lose its lead on the Internet as innovation moves to more fertile, open markets overseas.

We need to keep the Internet as an open marketplace and not allow a few rich heavy-hitters that will dictate where you can go.

What Should Congress Do?
Congress needs to act to preserve Net Neutrality and the Internet as we know it. They should:

1. Re-establish basic safeguards that require broadband providers to treat all Internet traffic in a nondiscriminatory manner, without favoritism.
2. Prohibit tiering schemes that impose fees to �deliver� Internet content on top of the fees already paid to connect to the Internet.
3. Require strong federal enforcement, including penalties for violating these duties.

Everyone who uses the Internet will be affected if Congress gives in to the telephone and cable companies� demands. Please, take action today to preserve the open Internet:

* Join the Coalition Mailing List (“Sign Up for Email Alerts” at right)
* Tell Congress: Protect Our Internet!
* Spread the Word about Net Neutrality

By working together, we can save the Internet.