John R
needs to get out more
just got this, this affects everyone on this board, that's why i posted it here. kurt, feel free to move it elsewhere if necessary.
Thousands of you have already signed our Internet Freedom petition - Thank you!
However, large cable and telephone companies continue to presure the Senate to pass bills that would limit our Internet access. We need to send a strong message to the Senate asking them to not let these large corporations decide what sites should get priority online.
Can you help us get 10,000 signers on the petition this week? If you have already signed, please forward this e-mail to 3 friends and family members asking them to help us keep the Internet free.
To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=1568&id4=ES
Background
The Internet is an invaluable tool for millions of people all over the world to access information and communicate with each other. It was designed so that no one company, government, or individual could control or limit the flow of information, and that's why it's just as easy to access your favorite unheard of website as it is to access a popular website like Amazon.com and that's why it is just as easy to send an email to a loved one.
But the internet as we know it is at risk because of recent Federal Communications Commission and Supreme Court decisions that eliminated the Internet's founding principle of "net neutrality." Put more simply, all web content is created equal, and the companies that merely provide Internet services had been prohibited from deciding whether some of it could go in a fast lane and some of it in a slow lane. Unless reversed, these decisions will allow the telephone and cable companies to become gatekeepers in control of the Internet with the power to decide who and what gets priority online. Your favorite unheard-of web site could be relegated to a "slow lane," and so could your favorite mainstream site, if it isn't approved by the telephone companies.
This will not only affect the way in which we use the internet on a day-to-day basis but will also stifle innovation online. Instead of being a place for big ideas from small companies, the Internet would become a rigged system where only those with the deepest pockets get a chance to compete. Under these conditions popular online technologies like photo sharing and instant messaging -- both created by small companies -- would never have seen the light of day.
This will also affect political and cultural ideas. As Internet visionary Jeff Chester has pointed out: "Without proactive intervention, the values and issues that we care about--civil rights, economic justice, the environment and fair elections--will be further threatened by this push for corporate control." Imagine if political candidates could limit access to their opponent's website by paying Verizon or AT&T.
While the telephone companies won the first round, by moving a pro-industry telecommuncations bill through the House that fails to restore a free Internet, the full Senate hasn't acted yet. In fact, just last month, we battled the phone behemoths - who expected a crushing victory over us - to an 11-11 draw in the Senate Commerce Committee. Although the 11-11 vote was technically a defeat for the champions of net neutrality, Senators Snowe (R-ME) and Dorgan (D-ND), no one expected us to do that well and the close vote has thrown the future of the phone company plan to move their favored deregulation bill without language guaranteeing Internet freedom into disarray. We expect the Senate to take up telecommunications legislation on the floor in September. We are urging Senators to insist that the bill contain the Snowe-Dorgan amendment or to vote no.
Can you help us get 10,000 signers on the petition this week? If you have already signed, please forward this e-mail to 3 friends and family members asking them to help us keep the Internet free.
To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=1568&id4=ES
Sincerely,
Mark Ferrulo
Florida PIRG Director
MarkF@floridapirg.org
http://www.FloridaPIRG.org
P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this e-mail with your family and friends.
Thousands of you have already signed our Internet Freedom petition - Thank you!
However, large cable and telephone companies continue to presure the Senate to pass bills that would limit our Internet access. We need to send a strong message to the Senate asking them to not let these large corporations decide what sites should get priority online.
Can you help us get 10,000 signers on the petition this week? If you have already signed, please forward this e-mail to 3 friends and family members asking them to help us keep the Internet free.
To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=1568&id4=ES
Background
The Internet is an invaluable tool for millions of people all over the world to access information and communicate with each other. It was designed so that no one company, government, or individual could control or limit the flow of information, and that's why it's just as easy to access your favorite unheard of website as it is to access a popular website like Amazon.com and that's why it is just as easy to send an email to a loved one.
But the internet as we know it is at risk because of recent Federal Communications Commission and Supreme Court decisions that eliminated the Internet's founding principle of "net neutrality." Put more simply, all web content is created equal, and the companies that merely provide Internet services had been prohibited from deciding whether some of it could go in a fast lane and some of it in a slow lane. Unless reversed, these decisions will allow the telephone and cable companies to become gatekeepers in control of the Internet with the power to decide who and what gets priority online. Your favorite unheard-of web site could be relegated to a "slow lane," and so could your favorite mainstream site, if it isn't approved by the telephone companies.
This will not only affect the way in which we use the internet on a day-to-day basis but will also stifle innovation online. Instead of being a place for big ideas from small companies, the Internet would become a rigged system where only those with the deepest pockets get a chance to compete. Under these conditions popular online technologies like photo sharing and instant messaging -- both created by small companies -- would never have seen the light of day.
This will also affect political and cultural ideas. As Internet visionary Jeff Chester has pointed out: "Without proactive intervention, the values and issues that we care about--civil rights, economic justice, the environment and fair elections--will be further threatened by this push for corporate control." Imagine if political candidates could limit access to their opponent's website by paying Verizon or AT&T.
While the telephone companies won the first round, by moving a pro-industry telecommuncations bill through the House that fails to restore a free Internet, the full Senate hasn't acted yet. In fact, just last month, we battled the phone behemoths - who expected a crushing victory over us - to an 11-11 draw in the Senate Commerce Committee. Although the 11-11 vote was technically a defeat for the champions of net neutrality, Senators Snowe (R-ME) and Dorgan (D-ND), no one expected us to do that well and the close vote has thrown the future of the phone company plan to move their favored deregulation bill without language guaranteeing Internet freedom into disarray. We expect the Senate to take up telecommunications legislation on the floor in September. We are urging Senators to insist that the bill contain the Snowe-Dorgan amendment or to vote no.
Can you help us get 10,000 signers on the petition this week? If you have already signed, please forward this e-mail to 3 friends and family members asking them to help us keep the Internet free.
To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=1568&id4=ES
Sincerely,
Mark Ferrulo
Florida PIRG Director
MarkF@floridapirg.org
http://www.FloridaPIRG.org
P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this e-mail with your family and friends.
