Al Franken to Talk Net Neutrality: Join Him or Watch Online
By Megan Tady, August 18, 2010
Sen. Al Franken just joined the bill for tomorrow’s public hearing on the future of the Internet in Minneapolis. Will you be there to express your support for Net Neutrality and free speech online?
And not only Sen. Franken -- Federal Communications Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael Copps will be at the hearing to listen to you, too.
If you can’t make the hearing, you can watch the live stream of the event courtesy of The Uptake here, and you can send your statements to the FCC here.
Our warnings are no longer speculation. Google, Verizon, ATT and Comcast are about to turn the Internet into cable TV --- where their favored websites and content will move fast, and everyone else will be left without a voice. These companies will kill the Web as an engine for free speech and equal opportunity. It is time for us all to stand up or get rolled.
Watch this video to find out more:
President Obama has said this was a top priority. But the FCC chairman remains silent. And too many in Congress are owned by the phone and cable companies.
Our last line of defense is regular people. We need hundreds of people to show up on Thursday night. And we need thousands more to watch the speeches online and send a message to FCC Chairman Genachowski telling him to act. It’s this combined effort that will show the FCC and Congress that people care deeply about a corporate takeover of the Internet.
If you’re from Minnesota, please come with a friend or two to South High School Thursday night. The event begins at 6 p.m. You can go to this website to RSVP and learn more.
We need to hear from you. The commissioners need to hear from you. In person or online, make your voice heard tomorrow.
Free Press is a national, nonpartisan organization working to reform the media. Free Press does not support or oppose any candidate for public office. Through education, organizing and advocacy, we promote diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media and universal access to communications.
Megan Tady
Megan Tady is a blogger, video producer and freelance writer who previously served as the Free Press communications coordinator. She blogs at SavetheInternet.com and SavetheNews.org. Follow her on Twitter @MegTady.
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Comments
Net Neutrality
"Will you be there to express your support for Net Neutrality and free speech online?"
If you think that by supporting net neutrality you are a supporter and advocate of free speech, you either are delusional or you haven't read any of the proposed legislation. Granting ever more power and regulatory authority to the FCC is antithetical to free speech.
Perhaps you are not aware but Australia has too implemented something similar and their regulatory authority, despite blocking websites that sexually exploit children (no argument in doing that) has also blocked other websites (most notably WikiLeaks).
Simple logic and even a cursory review of government's track record does not lend credence towards extending freedom but instead quite the opposite in that it restricts freedom.
Free Speech and Greed Don't Mix
Wake up, SOAPBOXGOD. Freedom of the press only applies to those who own one.
Currently, the Internet provides the widest dissemination of the widest variety of information for the lowest cost in the history of media. This applies to both producers and consumers of information. ISPs and Telcos are already making money from this by charging for access. Everyone with an Internet connection pays for the ability to send and receive data. If you have a bigger data pipe, you pay more, whether you are producing or consuming data.
Telcos have only allowed free speech when they are legally required to do so. The same holds true for cable, for example, with public access channels. Telcos are common carriers for voice, and legally required to interoperate with and give equal access to other telcos. The Internet, the telephone, and snail mail are all just networks that carry data, common carriers in fact, and should not be allowed to discriminate against any legal content whatsoever.
Currently, the Internet reduces the cost for publication so dramatically that people and organizations with great ideas and low budgets can be heard. We shouldn't allow the telcos to partner with content providers and turn this relatively level playing field into a pay-to-play crapfest. We already have cable TV for that.
The only reason to allow any type of content discrimination is corporate greed. There is absolutely no benefit for the audience/data consumer. The person seeking information should determine what they find, not content publishers and their gatekeeper partners. Publishers should focus their efforts on creating compelling content to drive audiences instead of lobbying and trying to shut out competition with telco partnerships.
You have absolutely no idea
You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Hopefully you're just trolling, soapboxgod, but if you're not I really hope you'll read in to the issue a little more. Feel free to write a nice wordy response that twists the facts to align with your point of view, but I'm not going to be back to read it.