Net Neutrality is under fire

In 2006, when I first learned that Net Neutrality was under attack, I immediately signed the petition at http://www.savetheinternet.com and contacted my Representative and Senators.

At that time, we won a glorious victory. However, that hasn't stopped the Internet Service Providers from lobbying Congress to allow them to control the Internet.

Why is Net Neutrality so important?

Net Neutrality allows every single person on the world wide web and equal chance to be seen. Unlike television and radio, anyone can have a web site and have their voice be heard. Before the Internet, the first amendment and a level playing field were non-existant.

Under Net Neutrality, I have just as much of a chance to get a consistant and large stream of visitors and maximize my personal profits as the largest web design and development firm.

Without Net Neutrality, big corporations will control what you and I see on the Internet. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) will decide which search engines you use, which web sites you see, and how well your sites get viewed by the public.

How will ISPs decide what content will be viewed by their users?

The answer is a simple 4 word question: Who has the money?

ISPs have corporate partners, just like every other large company in the nation. Instead of concerning themselves with the interest of their customers, ISPs would be more interested in preserving the interests of their corporate partners. That means that if ISP-A forms a partnership with Search Engine-5, then you won't be able to have access to any other Search Engine online! Worse yet, if your ISP creates its own Search Engine, you could be dealing with a monopolized internet connection.

It's just like what happened to TV and Radio

Television and Radio have become highly regulated by our government and the FCC. Companies own the channels and the airwaves. So unless you have a license and you're owned by a large corporation, your voice would not be heard on the mass media about anything. When the Internet came, its popularity soared because everyone was equal, and everyone had a voice.

What will happen if Net Neutrality is not preserved?

Many things will happen if Net Neutrality is not preserved.

1. Freedom of Speech and the Press will be, once again, highly regulated.
2. The average American citizen who has earned his/her living on the internet will lose their businesses to large companies who have money to pay the ISPs for web traffic.
3. The unemployment rate will go up.
4. The economy will suffer (as if it hasn't suffered enough).
5. Everything will be controlled by Mass Media and corporate interests.

The list goes on and on!

For more information, please visit http://www.savetheinternet.com...

...and Take Action!