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SAVE THE INTERNET From ISP Censorship
The U. S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently held hearings in Boston, Massachusetts on the issue of Network Neutrality. Network Neutrality, or Net Neutrality, is defined as the principle that keeps our Internet open and free from censorship. Net Neutrality prevents Internet Service Providers, (ISPs) , such as phone companies, and cable operators from interfering with web content, by blocking or slowing transmission or by imposing censorship determined by such arbitrary criteria as the source, ownership or destination.
FreePress.Net is providing the Internet using public, a list of facts about Net Neutrality and why it is important to defend our right to a free and open Internet.
As a public service YouThinkWhat presents an excerpt of the facts about Net Neutrality.
Net Neutrality protections have been a part of the Internet since its inception. Do not believe the hype! Supporters of Net Neutrality are not promoting new regs. What is being sought is to re-establish the basic principles of nondiscrimination. These primary principles had protected the free-flowing Internet for years until in 2005 the FCC made a decision that removed those safeguards. Net Neutrality supporters are attempting to restore established safety of the system while repairing the damage incurred by the actions of lobbyists for the Internet Service Providers. Net Neutrality advocates are in favor of maintaining the Internet as the major source of economic growth and democratic communication.
In the recent past, every time we have heard the proponents of a major change in the way a utility is regulated or the advocates of sweeping modifications which will affect the way consumers utilize a service or are billed for its use, we have been told “… these changes will benefit the consumer”. This has not been true in the past with deregulation of services like AMTRAK, energy-specifically electricity, telecommunications or airline deregulation. The consumers of the deregulated service never receive a benefit from the change, unless you call paying increased rates for a service that does not work as well as it did before the authorities made it “better”,  a benefit.
Although the “d-reg” term “deregulation” is not being used in this instance Mr. and Ms Consumer beware, whenever you hear those who wish to impose restrictions on your right to use a formerly good open service; one that functioned well; when you read or hear them describe the transformation as one that will be of benefit to you, do not believe it. In fact by now you should  know there isn’t one ounce of truth in those statements about benefits to consumers.
Internet censorship will remove the consumers’ ability to choose. Today users of the Internet decide which sites are popular or not on the merit of the sites, products or services. An ISP, like AT&T or Comcast does not have the authority to arbitrarily select and distort the free marketplace. Actually the ISPs have already begun to respond to the removal of Net Neutrality protections by blocking competitive video-sharing applications.
Finally, discrimination/censorship is a decidedly insidious activity which will destroy what the architect of the Internet Vint Cerf called ” innovation without permission”. Cerf designed the network to be free and open for innovators and entrepreneurs. Many of today’s most highly favored sites, YouTube, MySpace, and FaceBook were developed in the last five years.
We’ll post more information for your edification on this pending attempt to abridge yet another of our American freedoms. In the meantime visit SaveTheInternet.com to learn how to use the Internet to Save the Internet.
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