Welcome to theN3TWORK, I'm Jane Baek. Recently, we heard rumors that we not be able to access popular websites like MySpace and Facebook. We also heard that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) were blocking certain websites, a serious affront to our First Amendment freedoms. I know what you're thinking: there is no way this could happen in America. Guess what? We discovered that it's already happening! We learned that the only way we can stop big corporations and ISPs from curtailing our Internet freedoms is if we have something called Net Neutrality. So we had to find out: what is Net Neutrality, and is the Internet as we know it about to change?
Webster's New Millennium dictionary defines Net Neutrality as: "The principle that basic Internet protocols should be non-discriminatory, esp. that content providers should get equal treatment from Internet operators." What would it be like without Net Neutrality? Without Net Neutrality you might not be able to go to some of your favorite websites, and you may have to pay more for music or movie downloads. There would also be censored speech and content, and you may be denied the services you want because your ISP has made a deal with someone else. For example, if you wanted to buy something from eBay using PayPal, but your ISP joined forces with a different online payment company, it would mean that you wouldn't be able to use PayPal unless you incurred an additional service charge.
So Net Neutrality means no discrimination, no favoring one website over another, and no paying a lot of money to get ahead of someone else? Great! Bring on Net Neutrality! What's the problem? As we dug deeper we saw that big telecommunication companies are telling the government and the people that Net Neutrality will push us even farther behind in the world in technological advancement. But America invented the Internet, how did we become 19th in the world? Back in the 90's, everyone used a phone line to connect to the Internet. Advances in technology then paved the way for DSL and cable Internet connections, and now the world has been introduced to fiber optics.
A phone line uses one copper wire to connect your computer to the Internet . A cable uses strands of copper wires, and fiber optic uses glass and lasers to connect you to the Internet by sending information through binary code. However, with fiber optics, the connection speed is 45 times faster than what we are using now. Fiber optics is also super expensive. Back in the 90's, when the whole world competed for technological supremacy, America struggled with questions like: Who should pay? And who should build this new fiber optic network? The telecom industry came up with an idea. They told the government: If we are allowed tax breaks, and if we can charge customers more money than what is fair for basic services, we will use the extra billions of dollars to build America's fiber optic network.
Fast forward to 2009 - Where's the fiber optic network? Well, it never got built. However, the telecom industry received over $125 billion in tax breaks and increased profits by 128%. America is falling behind and the question still remains: who's going to build and pay for the new network? The telecom industry has another plan. Their idea is to create a New Internet composed entirely of fiber optics. The catch is that on this New Internet, ISPs will be able to control where you can go and who gets to come to you.
Imagine if you wanted to start an online business and couldn't afford the premium access price. In essence, this New Internet discriminates and discourages fair competition in what used to be a free marketplace for the exchange of ideas, all the while restricting your access capabilities. The money to fund a fiber optic network would come from brand new user fees and services that we never used to pay for, and would also allow telecom giants to act as Internet gatekeepers.
If we have Net Neutrality, however, the telecom companies will just have to build the fiber optic network as an investment, and get a return based on the quality of their services. Wanting the perspective of someone with firsthand experience in the telecom industry, we found John Eger, the former Vice President of CBS, former counsel to the FCC, a telecommunications lawyer, and the head of the Communications department at San Diego State University.
So what can we do? Right now, Congress is getting ready to vote on H.R. 5353, The Internet Freedom Preservation Act, which would make Net Neutrality law. Whether or not this bill passes depends on you. Below the TV you'll find a list of ways you can participate in the debate. Who's going to be in charge of making sure Net Neutrality becomes law: corporations, or you?
Telecom companies are counting on you to view their takeover of the Internet as inevitable and unstoppable, but let us not forget that the collective voices of 1.6 million people that led to the punishment of Comcast for blocking Internet users from certain sites. History has shown us time and time again that the voices of the masses outweigh the dollars of the elite, from the civil rights marches on our nation's capital to the student protests of the Vietnam War. The preservation of our Internet freedom is still within our grasp. Help Representative Ed Markey pass The Internet Freedom Preservation Act. If you aren't sure just how to help, check out our tools of action link below and make yourself heard. Our Internet freedom and First Amendment rights are at stake. Will you take a stand?
