Bloggers Hail Coalition Call for Net Freedom
April 22nd, 2006 by Tim KarrThe blogoshere has lit up with news of the launch of the SavetheInternet.com Coalition. Here’s a sampling of the more than 135 postings that mention or link to the campaign:
When you can get Glenn Reynolds and MoveOn.org to unite in common cause, you figure it’s got to be a slam-dunk issue. And this one is. With almost no noise in the media, the government is mulling ceding control of the Internet to the major ISPs, allowing them to selectively throttle bandwidth or block sites and services as they see fit.
David Weinberger at Joho the Blog:
Remember when democracy had something to do with all people being equal? With ensuring that our institutions don’t get too powerful? Net neutrality has made the Internet a great equalizer, not just for Americans but for voices around the world.
I hope you take the time to read through this and contact the people who represent you. It doesn’t matter what your politics are, what you use the Web for, or what you think about regulation. This is about ensuring the Web continues to remain free . . .
The owners of the pipes make it sound as if supply is tight, and price discrimination is the answer. But (a) there is still plenty of unused bandwidth out there (which is why prices are falling) and (b) the very idea of price discrimination in an environment where both buyers (that’s us) and sellers are both paying to hook up to the Web is, well insane.
Kiersten Marek at Kmareka.com:
This is a cause that we little websites need to be on board with: net neutrality. Without it, the big-money players on the internet could easily squeeze out access to little websites like this one.
Without net neutrality, decisions now made collectively by millions of users will be made in corporate boardrooms. The choice we face now is whether people can choose the content and services they want, or whether the broadband barons will choose for them.
The age of business models built on scarcity and on keeping your customers from doing what they want to do is over.
“This is a call for support from Internet users of every demographic. This will affect everyone, and right now the issue is a quiet one being discussed in Washington . . .
This is a huge issue, and without public outcry, I am truly worried that Congress will give in to big business over the public good. . . Find the members of the Save The Internet coalition here. There’s some folks I really respect on it, and some folks I generally have no use for, but hey, this is something we can all agree on. . .
