Keep the Internet Free

Mitchell Szczepanczyk of Chicago Media Action sounds an alarm and every blogger ought to be concerned.

As of now, anyone can access the Internet and determine by choice when and where to go, no matter their beliefs or interests. If the titans of the Telecommunications industry have their way, all that will soon change.

Excerpt: Companies like AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast want to abolish net neutrality and set up the virtual equivalent of tolls on the internet. The idea would be to set up separate tiers of internet access - the digital equivalent of a ten-lane superhighway alongside a single-lane dirt road. If you want to access the superhighway, you'd have to pay AT&T or whomever extra fees through a virtual toll for that access - a source of fantastic profit potential for the would-be tollkeepers on the internet. But those who can't afford the superhighway can still take the dirt road, right?

More : This will then lead to a Catch-22 for bloggers. Either pay the telecom companies hefty ongoing fees which you may or may not afford, or face the digital equivalent of a black hole where you can't easily or readily access independent media content. Either way, the abolition of net neutrality will dissuade a great many online media producers and consumers, thereby striking an effective death blow to the blogosphere and the variety and diversity currently on the internet. The advantage would thus go to already wealthy and entrenched media producers.

As always, there is only one way to stop the ever-reaching arm of corporate influence and that's to GET INVOLVED. If you run your own site, participate by reading and posting comments, or enjoy easy access to the world of information, please don't hesitate to read more about net neutrality and send off an email to CEOs and your elected representatives.

Blog owners: join the fun and run a free banner on your site to bring attention to this important issue.

Can we save ourselves? Everyone affected must express outrage over this latest attempt to extort money for an already way-profitable enterprise. Do you know anyone satisfied with mainstream media? Keep the Internet free.

Bloggers bring many important issues to light; don't allow media conglomerates to put us all back in the dark.