National Outpouring of Support for Net Neutrality
August 31st, 2006 by tkarr |
Supporters of Internet freedom took to the pavement Wednesday and Thursday in 25 cities nationwide, delivering SavetheInternet petitions to their senators and urging them to oppose the phone and cable company attempt to gut Net Neutrality.
From Buffalo to Fayetteville, Orlando to Seattle, the outpouring of public support for Net Neutrality comes as the Senate’s August recess comes to a close, and our elected representatives return to Washington and the business of making laws.
Unfortunately, that business has been overrun by the nation’s largest phone and cable giants. Companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast are pouring more than $100 million into campaign contributions, phony “Astroturf” PR firms, lobbyists and TV and radio advertising in a drive to strong arm Congress into passing Sen. Ted Stevens’ bad telecom legislation (HR 5252).
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On Wednesday and Thursday, SavetheInternet.com supporters fanned out across the country to speak back to the big phone and cable companies. Their message to Senators: “Don’t sell out the Internet. Serve the public interest. Support real Net Neutrality.”
In each location (Pictured: Montpelier - left; New York - above; Minneapolis, Denver, Providence and Seattle - below), citizens are urged their senators to place the needs of the public and our democracy ahead of the interest of phone and cable lobbyists — and to oppose any legislation that lacks enforceable Net Neutrality protections.
Here are some reports from the cities:
New York Senator Pledges Support
“We are extremely pleased that both of our New York Senators are pro Net Neutrality,” Jessica Findley, a freelance graphic designer from Brooklyn, said on Wednesday. “We are proud that they represent the importance of this freedom and hope that other senators will follow their great lead.” Findley and others delivered more than 50,000 petitions to the offices of Sen. Charles Schumer, who earlier in the week pledged his support for Net Neutrality.
Iowa’s Harkin Joins Fight
Two days prior to SavetheInternet’s Des Moines rally, Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin pledged to “strongly support Net Neutrality legislation.” In a statement released to press he wrote: “If Congress does not insist that this openness and neutrality remain a hallmark of the Internet, then we risk transitioning to a system where Internet providers can favor one website over another, based on money or content. This would be an unacceptable result.”
WHOTV-13 covered Wednesday’s Des Moines event where people gathered to thank Senator Harkin for his decision. At the event, Ben Bellus, a small business owner said that killing Net Neutrality could force small businesses to pay a higher rate for fast Internet service. “It would reduce the efficiency of our services to our clients and that is something we really don’t want to do, it isn’t fair.”
Senator Dayton Announces Support at Minneapolis Rally
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Sen. Mark Dayton chose the Savetheinternet.com event in Minneapolis to come out in support of Net Neutrality legislation — and against Stevens’ Bill. Dayton told supporters that he would become a co-sponsor the Snowe-Dorgan pro-Net Neutrality bill. “I will work with the two Senate sponsors to enact the Net Neutrality principles of equal access to the Internet into law this year.”
Vermont’s Jeffords Gets Behind Net Freedom
Days before Thursday’s SavetheInternet.com rally in Montpelier, Sen. James Jeffords issued a statement that he would “support the concept of network neutrality, as I believe the Internet works best when users can control their access to content. I recognize the benefits of reasonably priced, high-speed Internet access, especially in rural areas.” Jeffords said he was “disappointed the Commerce Committee was not able to agree on a stronger network-neutrality provision.”
Skewering Telco Lies in Detroit
In Detroit, outside Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s office, David Pettit of the Public Interest Research Group in Michigan said, “Powerful telephone company lobbyists will tell you one of two things — both of which, of course, are false. First, they will tell you that the Stevens bill already preserves Net Neutrality. This is completely not true. Second, they might say ‘don’t regulate the Internet. Let the market decide’ … All we want to do is reinstate the Net Neutrality principles that guarantee that the Internet treats everyone fairly.”
Rallies Continue Through Thursday
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On Wednesday, other petition delivery events were held at senators’ offices in Buffalo, Fayetteville, Denver, Boston, Newark, Providence, Baltimore, Portland (ME), Seattle, Eau Claire and Milwaukee.
Thursday petition events were held in Montpelier, Wilmington, Orlando, Honolulu, Louisville, Columbus, Madison, Spokane and Charleston. Successful events were held earlier this month in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
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Stay tuned to this blog for more reports from across the country.
Before senators return to the Beltway next week, their constituents have put the issue sharply into focus.
///ends
NOTE: If you particpated in an event, please tell us about it in the comment thread below.
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MEDIA CLIPS OF THE DAY:
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DENVER, COLORADO CBS NEWS
SaveTheInternet.com Petition Delivery to Sen. Salazar, 8/30/06
DES MOINES, IOWA NBC NEWS
Petition Delivery to Sen. Harken, 8/30/06
PORTLAND, MAINE PUBLIC RADIO
Petition Delivery to Sen. Collins, 8/30/06
BURLINGTON, VERMONT. CBS NEWS
Petition Delivery to Sen. Jeffords, 8/31/06
FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. ABC NEWS
Petition Delivery to Sen. Lincoln, 8/31/06
MADISON. WISCONSIN RADIO NETWORK
Petition Delivery to Sen. Kohl, 8/31/06
MADISON. NPR, WISCONSIN - 87.7
Petition Delivery to Sen. Kohl, 8/31/06
WILMINGTON, DE. WDEL 1150AM
Petition Delivery to Sen. Carper, 8/31/06
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. ABC NEWS
Petition Delivery to Sen. Bingaman
Boston (below):
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September 1st, 2006 at 12:48 pm
Here is a prediction, assume that net neutrality is not protected, ISP’s have complete control over which websites are given bandwidth priority, and which website will not have any bandwidth priority.
Somewhere out there on the Internet will be a blogger or a company whose web presence is hosted on a server that is NOT given bandwidth priority. In fact their server belongs to a company that is competition for a company that IS given bandwidth priority. By this very fact they may have a strong “freedom of speech” argument, they are not able to express themselves freely because the people who control who gets to view your website act like censors.
Eventually ISP’s will block a blogger or a company’s website, and then the “freedom of speech” issue will be strong. With the right lawyers, I can easily see this going all the way to the Supreme Court and being ruled unconstitutional. If Michael Newdow the famous atheist can sue the government over the word “God” on our money, we can sue the companies for restricting our freedom of speech.
September 2nd, 2006 at 11:21 am
[…] Meanwhile the grassroots groups are keeping the pressure on the Senators. […]
September 5th, 2006 at 3:06 pm
Thought this panel at the upcoming Gilder/Forbes Telecosm Conference, Oct. 4 - 6, in Lake Tahoe would be of general interest.
Broadband Brawl: A Debate Over Net Neutrality
Panelists:
Tod COHEN, Vice-President and Deputy General Counsel, Government Relations, eBay
George GILDER, Chairman, Gilder Publishing, LLC; Editor in Chief, Gilder Technology Report
Andy KESSLER, former hedge fund manager; Author, Wall Street Meat, Running Money, How We Got Here, and The End of Medicine
Lawrence LESSIG, Professor of Law and Founder of Center for Internet and Society, Stanford
Paul McWILLIAMS, Editor, NextInning Technology Research
See:
http://www.gildertech.com/public/Telecosm2006/Agenda.htm
September 12th, 2006 at 12:50 am
I think a lot of people still don’t understand what this entire issue is about. I have an example that I hope helps, and if I’m way off base, please someone tell me (because that would mean I understand less than I thought!)
Here’s a simple map:
A — B — C — D
A is you (your computer)
B is your ISP (Internet Service Provider) for example, Comcast Cable Internet
C is the Internet, the big blob of wires and servers that make it up
D is the web site you’re trying to reach via B and C, like Yahoo.com
B (Comcast) wants to charge D (Yahoo) to provide the “service” of allowing A (you) a higher-speed connection to their site than a competing site (like Google). Whichever web site pays the most gets the most speed. Whichever pays the least, gets the least, so little “mom and pop” websites are going to appear to be slow as mud if you’re a Comcast customer because they won’t be able to afford the “fees” for a high speed connection back to you.
To put it VERY simply, the ISPs want to charge “both” ends, not just their customers (you) but the sites that want people to visit them. It would completely destroy the overall premise of the Internet and turn it into something like another cable company, where you can only get to sites that your ISP allows (worst case scenario, some sites would be completely unavailable – utterly blocked by your provider without your permission.)
September 12th, 2006 at 12:13 pm
shdwlynx:
They currently charge at both ends. A pays for thier internet connection and so does D. In both cases the a higher speed connection usually costs more money.
What the ISPs want is to charge D to allow them to use C at the speed A and D paid for.
They claim that D is currently getting a free ride. If that is true, then then company that provides D with that connection would go out of business soon. If Wallmart gave it’s products away for free, they would also go out of business.
The funny thing is I remember when SBC (then Southwestern Bell) threatened to cut you phone service if you used a modem. Thier excuse was that it costs them too much too deliver data over analouge lines. The telcos have been against the Internet from the beginning. They didn’t get serious about fiber untill the cable companies started cutting in on thier business. They didn’t become ISPs untill Prodigy, AOL, Compuserve and countless private ISPs/BBSs started making profits. Now they want to get paid for being dragged kicking and screaming into the Information age.
December 11th, 2006 at 1:44 pm
[…] The more than 850 groups in the SavetheInternet.com Coalition also include the National Religious Broadcasters, the Service Employees International Union, the American Library Association, Educause, Gun Owners of America, Future of Music Coalition, Parents Television Council, the ACLU, and every major consumer group in the country. These are supported by a community of more than a million small businesspeople, bloggers, MySpacers, YouTubers, activists and citizens who signed petitions, called Congress and pounded on their senators’ doors. […]
April 26th, 2007 at 11:17 am
[…] By Save The Internet. SavetheInternet.com supporters are flexing their grassroots muscle once again, drumming up even broader support for Net Neutrality during 42 “in-district” meetings […]
February 11th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
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March 7th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
[…] August alone, these grassroots actions convinced seven senators to announce their support for Net Neutrality — carrying forth […]