- Congress is about to sell out the Internet
by letting big phone and cable companies set up toll booths along the information
superhighway.
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- Companies like AT&T, Verizon and
Comcast are spending tens of millions in Washington to kill "network
neutrality" -- a principle that keeps the Internet open to all.
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- A bill moving quickly through Congress
would let these companies become Internet gatekeepers, deciding which Web
sites go fast or slow -- and which won't load at all -- based on who pays
them more. The rest of us will be detoured to the "slow lane,"
clicking furiously and waiting for our favorite sites to download.
-
- Don't let Congress ruin the Internet:
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- Rep. Joe Barton
- http://www.savetheinternet.com
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- Congress Sells Out
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- After accepting hundreds of thousands
of dollars in contributions from big telecom firms, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas)
is sponsoring a bill to hand over the Internet to these same companies.
He's not alone.
-
- Where Does Your Representative Stand?
- http://www.savetheinternet.com/=map
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- Act Now: Save the Internet http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet/i73nxku49jnx8jd?
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- *Tell Congress to Save Net Neutrality
Now* http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet/i73nxku49jnx8jd?
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- Our elected representatives are trading
favors for campaign donations from phone and cable companies. They're being
wooed by people like AT&T's CEO, who says "the Internet can't
be free" and wants to decide what you do, where you go and what you
watch online.
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- The best ideas never come from those
with the deepest pockets. If the phone and cable companies get their way,
the free and open Internet could soon be fenced in by large corporations.
If Congress turns the Internet over to giants like AT&T, everyone who
uses the Internet will suffer:
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- * *Google users* -- Another search engine
could pay AT&T to guarantee that it opens faster than Google on your
computer.
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- * *iPod listeners* -- Comcast could slow
access to iTunes, steering you to a higher-priced music service that paid
for the privilege.
-
- * *Work-at-home parents* -- Connecting
to your office could take longer if you don't purchase your carrier's preferred
applications. Sending family photos and videos could slow to a crawl.
-
- * *Retirees* -- Web pages you always
use for online banking, access to health care information, planning a trip
or communicating with friends and family could fall victim to Verizon's
pay-for-speed schemes.
-
- * *Bloggers* -- Costs will skyrocket
to post and share video and audio clips -- silencing citizen journalists
and amplifying the mainstream media.
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- * *Online activists* -- Political organizing
could be slowed by the handful of dominant Internet providers who ask advocacy
groups to pay a fee to join the "fast lane."
-
- * *Small businesses* -- When AT&T
favors their own services, you won't be able to choose more affordable
providers for online video, teleconferencing, and Internet phone calls.
-
- * *Innovators with the "next big
idea"* -- Startups and entrepreneurs will be muscled out of the marketplace
by big corporations that pay for a top spot on the Web.
-
- We can't let Congress ruin the free and
open Internet.
-
- *Let Congress Know that You Want Net
Neutrality Now* http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet/i73nxku49jnx8jd?
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- We must act now or lose the Internet
as we know it.
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- Onward,
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- Robert W. McChesney President Free Press
www.freepress.net
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- P.S. Visit www.SavetheInternet.com <http://www.savetheinternet.com>
to contact your representative, learn more about this issue, and discuss
this campaign with other activists.
-
- P.P.S. Tell your friends about this campaign
http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet/forward.
-
- If you received this message from a friend,
you can sign up for the Free Press at:
- http://action.freepress.net/freepress/join.html?r=77MST6F1mj1kE&
-
-
- (c)2004, 2005 Dahr Jamail.
-
- All images, photos, photography and text
are protected by United States and international copyright law. If you
would like to reprint Dahr's Dispatches on the web, you need to include
this copyright notice and a prominent link to the http://DahrJamailIraq.com
website. Website by photographer Jeff Pflueger's Photography Media http://jeffpflueger.com
. Any other use of images, photography, photos and text including, but
not limited to, reproduction, use on another website, copying and printing
requires the permission of Dahr Jamail. Of course, feel free to forward
Dahr's dispatches via email.
-
- More writing, commentary, photography,
pictures and images at http://dahrjamailiraq.com
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