Support Net Neutrality

Today is the day many of us are telling the FCC to reclassify ISPs as common carriers.

What's this about?   On May 15, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission's chairman, Tom Wheeler, proposed rules that would allow ISPs (ISP = Internet Service Providers) to charge extra fees for preferential treatment. ISPs are the people you pay to get access to the internet. Familiar names are AT&T, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Verizon. (Yep... the 'poster children' for bad customer service.)

The ISPs could charge content providers extra fees. If they pay, their content will show up on viewers' screens. If they don't pay, the content might or might not show up. It will definitely show up more slowly than content from those who paid the bribe. (Big-name content providers are Google, Netflix, Youtube, and Hulu.)

What is Net Neutrality?   Just a name to go by. It's way shorter than, "The cause championed by people who think ISPs should not block, discriminate against, or charge-extra-for-quicker-service-for any applications or content on the internet." Just as your phone company cannot decide who you could call and what you say on that call, your ISP should not be concerned with what content you view or post online.

If you're thinking that some content should be blocked, please remember that money, not ethics, will be the deciding factor. If "Rich Ralph's Raunchy Porn Site" pays for fast service, they get a spot in the fast lane. If "Poor Church Mouse's Food Bank" doesn't pay, donors and hungry folks will have to wait for the site to appear on their monitor. 

Shouldn't the courts stop this?  On the contrary, the court’s January 2014 ruling eliminated the only existing Net Neutrality protections on the books. ISPs already have the ability to block websites and applications. They can slow down its competitors or block political opinions it disagrees with.

What's the worst that could happen?  Internet blackouts. Smaller websites won't display. Tweets, emails and texts mysteriously delayed or dropped. Videos load slowly, if at all. Websites will work fine one minute, and time out another. Your ISP will say it’s not their fault. You’ll have no idea who to blame. Switching ISPs won't help, they'll all do this.

Exclusive deals could become the norm, with AT&T exclusively bringing you Netflix or Time Warner Cable as the sole source for YouTube. Expect to pay much more if you want good access to everything you view today.

Can we stop this nonsense?  All this abuse can happen because the FCC reclassified ISP giants as 'information services.' The FCC can re-rule and designate them as 'common carriers.' If this happens, the ISP giants will have to follow the rules everybody else follows. You may  CLICK HERE  to tell the FCC to do just that.