House Rs vote to kill net nuetrality

Here's a mass e-mail from Al Franken.


By now you may have heard the news: Republicans in the House of Representatives voted last week to block the FCC from enforcing its new net neutrality regulations.

As I’ve said before, these regulations weren’t nearly good enough to ensure that the Internet remains free and open. But they were a step in the right direction. And by voting to eliminate them, House Republicans declared their willingness to let big corporations control the Internet.

We know what this could mean for American consumers -- less diversity of viewpoints, less access to independent content through services like Netflix, and higher prices for Internet service.

The good news is that the Senate still has a chance to stop this special interest power play. I’m working as hard as I can to build support for net neutrality in the Senate -- but I’m not the only one talking to my colleagues. These corporations have lobbyists of their own, lots of them, and they’re descending upon Capitol Hill en masse.

The only way we're going to save net neutrality is if ordinary Americans make their voices heard. I'll update you soon -- but for now, please forward this email to your friends and ask them to join our campaign by linking up with me on Twitter or Facebook.

Thanks -- and stay tuned.


Al

It is obviously not just about using the Internet, choices, favoritism, etc., it is a new kind of battle-front in an information war being waged by the corporate regimes that are in full attack mode.

The impact of online, social networks and the like on Egypt was obvious, especially in the lead-up to the protests. The Egyptian government saw it as such a threat that they cut everything off. Fortunately, the opposition had reached such a significant level of involvement that all the shut-down did was hinder communication.

The Internet should be seen a commons, I think. Regardless of who provides access and where physical machines are located, etc., we, collectively are the Internet at large. We should be able to ascertain just how important this sphere of interaction and information is to our lives and freedoms and then act accordingly. In sense, they are the new, "public airwaves". The threat to the corporations and their lackeys is obvious and the control of this front-line in the battle will have a significant and long-term impact on how the struggle proceeds.