Equal Internet Access = Last Level Playing Field
Although more noise has been made lately about health insurance, hateful talkers and runs on ammo at Wal-Mart, Internet Neutrality is a stealth issue that could trump them all as it represents the First Amendment and democracy itself.
The Corporate Takeover of the Internet does not show up on the radar for most Americans. But, for voters who seek a full range of opinions and for candidates who do not have big money, for startup entrepreneurs and small businesses, the Internet is all they have. A free and open people's Internet goes hand in hand with democracy.
In fact, the Internet is the last level playing field.
This level playing field is about to be tilled up by the giant telecoms and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon. They and congress members they sponsor are plotting to game the Internet to Wall Street's liking, and as usual, the public be damned.
Net Neutrality allows any individual, regardless of income or other measure of status or position, to go anywhere on the web for information. Likewise, every one of us can post our message and opinions on the Internet, putting us on equal footing with millions-making CEOs.
We easily distracted Americans are not feeling any immediate pain over Net Neutrality--- we have Net Neutrality now---and we may think this is a geeky issue rather than a fundamental issue.
The pain will come later when Internet content is not a function of our First Amendment rights but is filtered by corporate profits; when the ISP cartel blocks or charges extra for competitors, such as Netflix (movies) and Skype and Vonage (phone); when they censor political views if they as gatekeepers disagree with them, and when they bog down unprofitable sites, keeping them in the slow lane, and charge premiums for profitable content in the fast lane.
Last week a lobbying entity held a "State of the Net" conference in Washington. While lawmakers were wined and dined, the event sounded like a pep rally for the corporate interests who would wrench the Internet from the public's slipping grasp. That Tennessee's 7th district Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn, she who would privatize the Internet and Social Security and de-fund Medicare and public education, was the keynote speaker is all you need to know.
Blackburn's speech was followed by a session called, "Congress, Technology and the Tea Party."
A preview of fear-mongering could be found in some of their breakout groups: "The State of the Social Net---A Catalyst for Civil & Political Revolution or a Hyped Distraction?" And, "Can the U.S. Continue to Support a Free Global Internet in the Age of Wikileaks, Cyberwar and Rampant Copyright Piracy?"
Blackburn has introduced a bill in the House that forbids the Federal Communications Commission from regulating one byte of the Internet. By the way, the ISP cartel and other industry related political action committees have contributed more than a quarter million dollars to Blackburn's PAC, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Unfortunately, the FCC's recent record is wimpy on sticking up for the public interest. A December swipe at net neutrality left loopholes wide enough that Verizon could drive through a truck load of lobbyists.
In another letdown of the public, the FCC just approved Comcast's merger with NBC-Universal to form an unthinkable, vertically integrated monopoly. (Will somebody please dust off the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and send it to Washington?)
Comcast, the nation's largest ISP and cable provider, now owns a vast catalog of NBC's movies, productions, content and other assets. Comcast's shareholders will require it to push its own content ahead of others.
Google started in a garage. Facebook started in a dorm room. What if those startups had not had access to relatively cheap messaging on the Internet? It is the entrepreneurs and small businesses that drive employment in the U.S.; the large corporations and multinationals are rewarded by Wall Street when they lay off workers or cut costs by shipping jobs off-shore.
Do you like your Internet like it is now? Raise Cain with your representative and senator to put the public first. The Constitution still reads, "We, the People," not, "We, the Fortune 500." Do not let us get steamrolled by another corporate lying and fear-mongering campaign. Nothing less than the future of democracy is in the balance.
Contact Citizens for a Free and Open Internet PAC for further information. Web site is www.WhatsUpWithMarsha.com
Another link: http://www.byebyeblackburn.com/
Another link: http://www.byebyeblackburn.com/
