Get yer finger out of my Internet

Big ups to my e-friend and fantastic writer Zoe Trope for pointing me in the direction of Save the Internet. Save the Internet is an online coalition fighting for Net Neutrality against the big Telecoms that they allege are trying to section off and otherwise restrict quick access to all the sites on the World Wide Web. According to Save the Internet, if the Telecoms had their druthers they'd make websites of competing or unsavory interests run slower -- or not load at all. There's no need for me to explain the possible implications of such an Internet.

I'm really surprised that the Internet has remained relatively free as long as it has. As soon as I even heard of the Internet and realized what it's capable of, I immediately started counting down until the time that major corporations could manipulate it in a way that would make it a giant cash cow and simultaneously the opposite of free. Think of the early days of other media -- particularly radio and television -- and think of what they've become today. There are many noble non-profits (I can think of Prometheus Radio Project off the top of my head) who are working to reopen the airwaves to the public, but once institutionalized it's much harder to undo such a change to a system than it is to prevent that change from ever happening in the first place.

Today's a big day for Save the Internet, as a key piece of legislation-- the Sensenbrenner-Conyers “Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2006″ (HR 5417) -- is being voted on in the House Judiciary Committee (you can watch the proceedings here). Their blog also has contact info for the members of the committee if you want to do some last minute nudging. You might notice from the new button on the right side of my blog where my loyalties lie.