Time for the Internet Generation to Save Itself

Hey “Internet Generation,” it’s time to save our namesake! Prepare to update your Facebook status, Tweet away and text your bff!

President Obama has called for the first-ever national broadband plan to bring the Internet to everyone, and our public comments are due at the Federal Communications Commission here by Tuesday, July 21.

Why must each of us absolutely take 60 seconds to comment? Because the national broadband plan is our big chance to save – and spread – the Internet. The Web is the economic, democratic and cultural core of our generation. As young people, we stand to gain or lose the most in this fight.

So why now? This summer we’ll have an opportunity to stand up for Net Neutrality – the guiding principle of the Internet. Net Neutrality protects our ability to use the Web as we do now – visiting any site, using any app and creating any content we can dream up, from YouTube videos to personal blogs.

But the nation’s largest telecoms – AT&T, Verizon and Comcast – want to become the Internet’s gatekeepers. Without Net Neutrality, online content can be sped up, slowed down or made unloadable, depending on which companies or sites can pay to play – and not on which we like the best. We’ll wind up with e-toll roads; a Web where companies like Google can afford the fast lane, but people like you and me, and the less loaded sites we care about, will be stuck in the slow lane.

Sound like the paranoid ramblings of your crazy uncle last Thanksgiving? It’s not. CEOs from these very companies have openly stated their intentions and tested them out. They’ve been trying to undermine Net Neutrality for years, and have only increased their efforts as activists and a handful of lawmakers have pushed to make Net Neutrality an enforceable law, rather than just a guiding principle.

Now that the telecoms sense that our momentum is building, they are spending millions of dollars on lobbyists and lawyers to destroy Net Neutrality. And you can bet they are flooding the FCC with comments about why a “closed” Internet, in which they have the power to discriminate against content for massive profits, is just fine for our country.

We have the most at risk in this fight. Without Net Neutrality, it is unimaginable that entrepreneurs such as Google, eBay, YouTube etc. would ever have emerged. And where do we fit in? Maybe you have the next great idea for the Web. Nothing should stop you from contributing to our economy, democracy and culture, especially not the greed of a few telecom companies.

Second, now is the time to ensure affordable, high-speed Internet access for all Americans. Despite being the birthplace of the Internet, the United States has fallen to 14th place in Internet speed, 15th place in penetration and 22nd place in price worldwide. Approximately 40 percent of all U.S. homes do not have access to Internet, or are on low-speed “dial-up.”

The “digital divide” between those with high-speed Internet and the tools to use it and those without disproportionately affects racial minorities, the working class and the geographically isolated. The Internet should help us overcome, not exacerbate, existing inequalities. No home, business or civic institution should be left out. All Americans, not just the wealthy and well-situated, should have access to broadband.

Improving our nation’s high-speed Internet – or broadband – should be a central aspect of our economic recovery. In the past, public investment in electricity, water access, railroads, highways etc., was necessary to get the job done. If we want to ensure that all Americans are connected to the Internet, our government must step in now.

As young people, we have witnessed the Internet emerge as the heart of our economy, democracy and culture. The Web offers new and vast opportunities for entrepreneurship, free speech, democratic participation and artistic expression. From the grassroots e-support for Barack Obama, to the vibrant politics and art of the blogosphere, to the smaller victories of the “Lolcats” and the “Star Wars kid,” the Internet has added tremendous value to our society.

President Obama is on the right path. He’s set aside $7.2 billion in the economic stimulus package to connect unserved and underserved areas to broadband, and has voiced his support for Net Neutrality. However, he faces incredible pressure from powerful telecom lobbies to protect their fat profits.

A diverse coalition has emerged in support of Net Neutrality and the transformative power of the Internet – including the Christian Coalition, National Rifle Association, ACLU and MoveOn.org. But this isn’t just a movement of organizations; it requires our individual voices. As young people, we cannot afford to sit back and trust others to fight for us.

Now is the time to tell President Obama and his FCC that our future requires the protection of and investment in an open, affordable Internet.

Russ Caditz-Peck is an intern at Free Press in Washington, D.C., and a senior Politics major at Whitman College.