Yoni Levin

Protect net neutrality and protect our freedoms

Net Neutrality is essential to free speech, equal opportunity and economic innovation in America. Since the FCC removed this basic protection in 2005, the top executives of phone and cable companies have stated their intention to become the Internet's gatekeepers and to discriminate against Web sites that don't pay their added tolls.

This fundamental change would end the open Internet as we know it. It would damage my ability to connect with others, share information and participate in our 21st century democracy and economy. The FCC must ensure that broadband providers do not block, interfere with or discriminate against any lawful Internet traffic based on its ownership, source or destination.

Everyone I know would be effected if Net Neutrality was lost. I use blogs to get information, email to keep contact with friends, VOIP to connect with friends overseas, upload my pictures to sharing websites like flickr, check on legislators through their websites, read the news daily, buy well priced products and do hundreds of other things every day with the internet. Now that Net Neutrality is threatened my daily online activities are threatened.

My life would be severely altered and hurt by the loss of Net Neutrality. If the internet was not neutral I would be forced to buy products from a few retailers instead of being able to shop hundreds and support many different retailers all over the country.

For decades Americans have fought for equality and our freedoms. Letting a few companies control the internet would strip Americans of their freedoms. The internet is our last true freedom of speech and you cannot take that away.