Save the Internet!

Petition to keep Net Neutrality

Right now, Congress is considering a bill (The Internet Freedom Act) to scrap the fundamental rules of the internet 4, Net Neutrality. Essentially, Net Neutrality states that all Internet data must be treated equally, that data from certain websites cannot be slowed down or sped up. Essentially, that all data sent to your computer must be treated equally. Your ISP (Internet Service Provider) is not allowed to control what you can or cannot see. This bill seeks to reverse these rules. Currently the bill has 31 co-sponsors. However, through corporate lobbying this could change very quickly.

These rules of Net Neutrality that are currently in place and regulated by the FCC have allowed the Internet to be the bastion of free trade and haven for small startups that it has been. Imagine if there were no YouTube or Facebook; if there had not been Net Neutrality when these websites started up, these companies would have never had a chance 1. The big websites at the time would simply not allow for them to gain a foothold. Imagine paying more just to watch a certain YouTube video or to go on a certain website.

This will be the reality if Net Neutrality is rescinded, which is exactly what the big ISP’s (who spent 42 million dollars on lobbying last year) 2 want and could gain in a heartbeat if this bill is passed. No longer would the Internet be home to innovation and the expression of ideas, but will be something only available to the huge corporations and their customers. On Net Neutrality, the President has said that “Net neutrality” has been built into the fabric of the Internet since its creation — but it is also a principle that we cannot take for granted. We cannot allow Internet service providers (ISPs) to restrict the best access or to pick winners and losers in the online marketplace for services and ideas” 3. As the President says we cannot allow ISPs to control the flow of the internet, we must save Net Neutrality!

Sign this petition to demand Congress vote down this bill and keep Net Neutrality, as well as demand them to enact new laws to allow for Net Neutrality to continue unhindered.

Call your Representative: http://www.usa.gov/Contact/US-Congress.shtml

Email your Representative: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

1 "How Net Neutrality Affects Small Business - Wasp Buzz." Wasp Buzz. Buzz Small

Business Magazine, 21 Jan. 2014. Web. 23 Feb. 2015.

2 "Net Neutrality: President Obama's Plan for a Free and Open Internet." The White

House. The White House, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

3 Schatz, Amy. "One Million Net Neutrality Comments Vs. $42 Million in ISP Lobbying."

Recode. Revere Digital LLC, 22 July 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.

4 Collins, Ben. "The Campaign Cash That Can Kill the Open Internet." The Daily Beast.

Newsweek/Daily Beast, n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2015.