Monthly Archives: May 2010

Tomorrow, May 11, 2010 is the Free Press Summit: Ideas To Action in Washington D. C. 

If you cannot attend you can listen:

http://www.freepress.net/summit

I can remember that conversation of concern that FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps had with television journalist Bill Moyers.  He was very concerned over whether the internet would continue to be free.  That conversation took place in August 2007, and he was asked by Bill Moyers, what’s at stake? And his reply was “the vitality of our democratic dialogue”.

They have forgotten that the public owns the airwaves. It was and is the job of Congress and the FCC to protect the public interest and they failed.  We must flood the FCC with phone calls to ensure that Chairman Genachowski, Commissioner Clyburn, Commissioner Copps (who we know supports this), Commissioner McDowell and Commissioner Baker follows through with the proposal to increase regulation of ISPs into the same category as telephone companies by reclassification as Title II Service.  This would increase internet access nationwide and would also require equal treatment on all online traffic.  After the federal court decision last month that the FCC had overreached its authority in sanctioning Comcast who had blocked a peer-to-peer application, this is the new proposal by the FCC after public pressure to fight.

It is absolutely imperative that the internet is kept open.  As Commissioner Copps says, “Our future is going to ride on broadband. How we get a job is going to ride on broadband. How we take care of our health. How we educate ourselves about our responsibilities as citizens. This all depends upon being able to go where you want to go on that Internet, to run the applications that you want to run, to attach the devices, to know what’s going on. That’s what net neutrality is all about.”

SO FIGHT WE MUST!

This will not be done unless we concentrate our efforts and let the FCC know how serious we are.  Let your voices be heard.  MAKE THOSE PHONE CALLS NOW !  CALL 1-888-CALL-FCC(1-888-225-5322) and E-MAIL fccinfo@fcc.gov

Penny McQuaig