The following represents the the email I just sent to President Obama, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) and Representative Joe Heck (R-NV) regarding Net Neutrality.
I was disturbed by the recent District Court ruling on Net Neutrality. I understand the business concerns of AT&T, Comcast and the other Internet providers, but bandwidth consumption by their users … personal and professional … is a burden equally distributed across the system. No company is any harder hit than any other by increasing usage of the Internet.
The assault on Net Neutrality is a money grab and a recipe for corporate abuse. It gives corporations the ability to restrict the free flow of information on the Internet. The corporations in question say they information will still be free, but we have also been told that they would not dump toxic chemicals into our ecosystem, cigarettes do not cause cancer and a host of other half-truths intended at driving up profits at the cost of the common good, intended or not.
I am not a bleeding heart liberal or would-be communist. I believe in capitalism and the right of business to protect their intellectual property and deliver value to their shareholders.
Make no mistake, Net Neutrality is THE fundamental, First Amendment issue of the information age. The ability to freely share information should not be restricted by either government or corporate interests. It will stifle innovation and open the door to corporate abuse of the power inherent awarded by this ruling.
Corporate control over the free flow of information is fundamentally unAmerican and I expect my representatives to stand up for the American values, not corporate interests.
Respectfully,
Doug Daulton
Concerned Citizen
If you are content creator, parent, start-up business, poor person or just average, “Joe/Jane Lunchbox” average US. Citizen, the recent Federal Appeals court ruling that the FCC cannot enforce Net Neutrality should concern you.
No, it should outright frighten you and piss you off.
The future is online.
News? Check. Entertainment? Check. Education? Check. Business? Check. Shopping? Check.
All of these endeavors are fast becoming online first; bricks & mortar, traditional broadcast and print … second. This ruling means that the corporations can and will restrict access to your favorite websites based on their own bottom line, not the free and fair flow of information.
Democrat or Republican. Conservative or Liberal. It does not matter where you come down on the political spectrum, Net Neutrality is something you should be insisting on. Anything else is a fundamental violation of the principles on which this country was founded.
It is just that simple.
Do something about it. Let your voice be heard. Write President Obama today. Then, write your own duly elected representatives and let your voice be heard.
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