Received an email from Clinton's office today:
"You may have heard about an issue called 'Net Neutrality.' I want to tell you a little bit about Net Neutrality, why I believe it's so important to our democracy, and what you can do to help.
Today, the Internet is an open marketplace of ideas where anyone can join in. With traditional media, like TV, radio, or newspapers, it's been difficult for average citizens to have a voice. But now, new technology is giving a wide variety of citizens the voice to speak out -- anyone with a computer connected to the Internet can set up a website that's just as accessible as those owned by a large media conglomerate.
The result has been an incredible diversity of new sources of information and opinion, and a growing, vibrant source of political debate. I think that's healthy for our democracy, and I want to see it continue.
Now, this open architecture that makes the Internet so powerful is being questioned. Some argue that it would be better for companies to give certain traffic on the Internet -- content that they are paid to deliver faster -- higher priority.
But this kind of preferential treatment could make it harder for individual voices to be heard. That's why I hope you'll join me as a co-sponsor of Net Neutrality legislation:
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/action/net/
I've become an original co-sponsor of the Internet Freedom Preservation Act, which would prevent Internet service providers from blocking, degrading, or giving a lower priority service on their networks.
That means a free and open Internet for every web page -- whether a blog created by a concerned individual or the home page of a large newspaper. That's the kind of open debate that makes our democracy stronger!
The fight for Net Neutrality has brought together business leaders, bloggers, good-government advocates, and many more. Please join them and me in this fight as a citizen co-sponsor of the Internet Freedom Preservation Act. Sign on today:
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/action/net/
Please join me in protecting an Internet where everyone can have a voice. Sign on as a citizen co-sponsor of this important Net Neutrality legislation, and please forward this message on to your friends and family.
Sincerely,
Hillary Rodham Clinton"
A New Era
8 hours ago
4 comments:
This is an incredibly important issue. What's at stake is whether the Internet will continue to be a venue for the free expression and sharing of ideas, or whether it will become just another corporate-controlled media outlet. Think it won't affect you? What if the big companies that run the wires decide that only other big companies can send their content over the wires they own? What if content providers - like bloggers, nonprofits, people with personal pages, the alternative online media - who can't pay huge sums of money are relegated to a digital ghetto, where traffic and page speeds are throttled back to speeds from the dial-up era. That's exactly what this fight is about. Call your Senators and let them know this issue is important to you!
This is an incredibly important issue. What's at stake is whether the Internet will continue to be a venue for the free expression and sharing of ideas, or whether it will become just another corporate-controlled media outlet. Think it won't affect you? What if the big companies that run the wires decide that only other big companies can send their content over the wires they own? What if content providers - like bloggers, nonprofits, people with personal pages, the alternative online media - who can't pay huge sums of money are relegated to a digital ghetto, where traffic and page speeds are throttled back to speeds from the dial-up era. That's exactly what this fight is about. Call your Senators and let them know this issue is important to you!
I can't stress enough how important this issue is. For those of you who may not know, most of the world's internet infrastructure is physically located inside the US, which makes this kind of internet-related legislation pertain, potentially, to internet users all over the world.
We don't get to vote in your elections, so it's up to you to do the right thing and make sure that your politicians don't wreck the Net for everyone else. After all, it'd take a long time to build a parallel, non-US one.
Kudos to Hilary Clinton on her net neutrality stance. I made an animated Net Neutrality music video. You can find the download link on this page:
http://www.spokenring.com/net-neutrality-video.php
Let's keep our fingers crossed that the Senate will do the right thing and thank you for helping to get the word out.
Thanks,
Robert
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