Free Internet

[sprunkner]

This is legit-- checked out. For concern at the moment by US residents, tho I'm sure it'll come up in your countries soon enough.

This is fairly important and can/will affect us all if it happens. I checked it out on snopes.com and it looks legit (if anyone knows differently let me know!). Here's the info:

Subject: Congress is selling out the Internet

Hi,

Do you buy books online, use Google, or download to an iPod? Everything we do online will be hurt if Congress passes a radical law next week that gives giant corporations more control over what we do and see on the Internet.

Internet providers like AT&T are lobbying Congress hard to gut Network Neutrality--the Internet's First Amendment and the key to Internet freedom. Net Neutrality prevents AT&T from choosing which websites open most easily for you based on which site pays AT&T more. BarnesandNoble.com doesn't have to outbid Amazon for the right to work properly on your computer.

If Net Neutrality is gutted, many sites--including Google, eBay, and iTunes--must either pay protection money to companies like AT&T or risk having their websites process slowly. That why these high-tech pioneers, plus diverse groups ranging from MoveOn to Gun Owners of America, are opposing Congress' effort to gut Internet freedom.

You can do your part today--can you sign this petition telling your member of Congress to preserve Internet freedom? Click here:

http://www.civic.moveon.org/save_the_in ... ibx2Sko.Rw

I signed this petition, along with 250,000 others so far. This petiton will be delivered to Congress before the House of Representatives votes next week. When you sign, you'll be kept informed of the next steps we can take to keep the heat on Congress.

Snopes.com, which monitors various causes that circulate on the Internet, explained:

Simply put, network neutrality means that no web site's traffic has precedence over any other's...Whether a user searches for recipes using Google, reads an article on snopes.com, or looks at a friend's MySpace profile, all of that data is treated equally and delivered from the originating web site to the user's web browser with the same priority. In recent months, however, some of the telephone and cable companies that control the telecommunications networks over which Internet data flows have floated the idea of creating the electronic equivalent of a paid carpool lane.

If companies like AT&T have their way, Web sites ranging from Google to eBay to iTunes either pay protection money to get into the "fast lane" or risk opening slowly on your computer. We can't let the Internet--this incredible medium which has been such a revolutionary force for democratic participation, economic innovation, and free speech--become captive to large corporations.

Politicians don't think we are paying attention to this issue. Together, we do care about preserving the free and open Internet.

Please sign this petition letting your member of Congress know you support preserving Internet freedom. Click here:

http://www.civic.moveon.org/save_the_in ... ibx2Sko.Rw

So, yeah, sign.

[Predabot]

I'd sign it, but I can't. I'm not american.

I have a hard time seeing this coming up in Sweden tho, seeing as we are currently living in a socialist regime.

Just this week, one of the biggest internet-providers in sweden BredBandsBolaget ( simply means the BroadBand Company) is getting looked on by the authorities for cheating and tricking the consumers.

Smooth, Compy, if you're seeing this, I hope you sign the petition.

[Kaylee]

Yes it's all very true. I've been following the story for some while. Hopefully the US Congress won't pass it though.

[Professor Smooth]

Signed.

[Best First]

what a ****ing world....

[Impactor returns 2.0]

you would think the old 'freedom of speech' act would overide this?

[Laser Rod Optimus Prime]

you would think the old 'freedom of speech' act would overide this?

You know, I've been following this story in it's various forms
(this isnt the first bill to attempt either this action or the inverse) and I havent heard anyone use that.

Although it would make one heck of an argument.

[Obfleur]

******* insane.

[Kaylee]

The argument, from the provider side, is that they are providing the bandwidth to the user and it is unfair for large amounts of bandwidth to be taken up by heavy media users- i.e. sites distributing video and music and taking up an unfair share given their user base. Hence they should be able to throttle such heavy users unless they enter into a subscription contract, especially since they own the infrastructure which such users are utilising.

I can see the argument but I don't think it holds much water- the Internet backbones barely run at a fraction of their total capacity (thanks to massive investment before the .COM bubble burst).