The FCC votes on rolling back net neutrality protections on December 14th. If they succeed, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) could throttle your service to pad their profits.
Net neutrality is the principle that all content is equal on the internet. ISPs can’t charge businesses to show their content faster. They can’t slow content they don’t want you to see.
Consumers should be able to access whatever content they want, whenever they want, at equal speeds. Huge ISPs should not be able to pad their profits by providing bad service to consumers.
For more information about Net Neutrality and the proposed FCC plan for dismantling it, click here.
For those of you struggling with the concept, here’s an analogy. At one time, the cost of your airfare covered your seat on the plane, a hot meal and beverages, as many bags as you could carry, and spectacular service. Today, in most cases, you are forced to pay fees and charges for most elements of your flight, while some (like the hot meal) have completely disappeared.
The internet today is like a flight in the 1950’s: the fee you pay for access gets you any and all content at the same speed. If Net Neutrality is dismantled, providers could charge different fees for access to different sites. Think they won’t? It’s already happening in Portugal, where one service provider is charging additional fees for access to bundles of sites and apps.
Both Mike Turner and Rob Portman have apparently not made public statements about whether they would support the FCC’s attempt to kill Net Neutrality, making our calls that much more important.
Actions:
- Convince FCC Commissioners to VOTE NO to save Net Neutrality. This is a long shot, but we MUST try. Here’s who to call:
- Ajit Pai: 202-518-7399, email: [email protected], Twitter: @AjitPaiFCC
- Michael O’Rielly: 301-657-9092, email: mike.o’[email protected], Twitter @mikeofcc
- Brendan Carr: 202-719-7305, email: Br
[email protected], Twitter: @BrendanCarrFCC
- Visit https://www.battleforthenet.com/ and use their tools to write and call your members of Congress. Even though the FCC plans to vote on December 14th, Congress can make their decision better or worse through new legislation.
- Attend a protest at a Dayton Area Verizon Store on December 7th (today!) . There will be gatherings at the Beavercreek, Dayton Mall, and Miller Lane stores at various start times. See the above website for more details.
Thank you to Kris Hatcher, Senator Sherrod Brown, NBC News, and many other resources for the content of today’s CTA!