Thursday, May 04, 2006

Two causes YOU should get involved with

1. Save Mammograms
www.acscan.org

S.1955 Could End Insurance Coverage for Mammograms
Your U.S. Senators Must Be Told to Vote NO on S.1955


2. Save The Internet
www.savetheinternet.com

Congress is pushing a law that would abandon the Internet's First Amendment -- a principle called Network Neutrality that prevents companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from deciding which Web sites work best for you -- based on what site pays them the most. Your local library shouldn’t have to outbid Barnes & Noble for the right to have its Web site open quickly on your computer.

Net Neutrality allows everyone to compete on a level playing field and is the reason that the Internet is a force for economic innovation, civic participation and free speech. If the public doesn't speak up now, Congress will cave to a multi-million dollar lobbying campaign by telephone and cable companies that want to decide what you do, where you go, and what you watch online.

This isn’t just speculation -- we've already seen what happens elsewhere when the Internet's gatekeepers get too much control. Last year, Telus -- Canada's version of AT&T -- blocked their Internet customers from visiting a Web site sympathetic to workers with whom the company was having a labor dispute. And Madison River, a North Carolina ISP, blocked its customers from using any competing Internet phone service.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I work on net neutrality issues and would like to point out that in the case of Madison River, the FCC immediately stepped in, fined the ISP, and prohibited it from blocking VoIP. And Telus is not relevant to your argument as it is outside of US jurisdiction. As Scott Cleland over at the Presursor Blog stated, “Existing laws are more than sufficient to address any potential net neutrality problem. FCC, FTC and DOJ all have existing authority and have stated they are vigilantly watching for any potential problems.” The Congressional regulation sought by net neutrality backers is the real danger facing the Internet as we know it. Like Dave Farber and Michael Katz wrote in their recent Washington Post article, “congressional initiatives aimed at preserving the best of the old Internet threaten to stifle the emergence of the new one.” For more information on the net neutrality debate, visit us at www.handsoff.org.

Clytemnestra said...

For readers:

I am not familiar with www.handsoff.org. I do know that the businesses that want to restrict the “pipes” and make it speed tiered service based on the amount on money paid on either side, has set up at least one, if not several organizations that look like pro-net neutrality organizations. The organization siphon off support and muddy the water with spin of the cooperate owner, and confuse the issues.

Because it is so hard to tell which organization is true and which is a set up for the interests of the big corporations (I’m not saying www.handsoff.org is, as I said I do not know who they are), I am sticking with www.savetheinternet.com. I encourage you to do the same.

Hopefully someone at www.savetheinternet.com will speak to these comments.