My friends of the internet, I come to you in dire times. But first, let me explain the situation.
We all know our good friend, the internet. We use it to shop for shoes, find a good restuarant, cure our lonliness for just a few hours, or even to play games. But the best thing about the internet is that you can virtually go wherever you want, when you want to, and on your terms.
Well, if the fatcats at Virgin Mobile, and those who follow them, would have their way, it wouldn't be that way. Their new CEO, Neil Burkett, says he dosen't believe in Net Neutrality.
Net Neutrality is basicly an ISP treating all incoming and outgoing information in a neutral manner, but this man believes this is "bollocks". He wants to set up Virgin service, so that sites that Virgin owns, or that Virgin has partnerships with load faster, and outside sites own by competitors or third parties load slower.
What does this mean, exactly? This means that just about any site they don't want you going to would run horribly slow, with the intent of discouraging you from going to that site. If you want to use YouTube, be prepared to wait a few minutes for that video, because Neil Burkett would rather you go to Virgin Mobile's own video site.
But I don't use Virgin, you say. How does all this affect me, you ask? Well, when it comes to big corporations like Virgin, money talks. If they make extra money through this, their competitors are sure to notice. In the spirit of remaining competitive, they will surely jump on the cash bandwagon. They might start with something small. Before you know it, they're carving up chunks of the internet between themselves, and that beautiful free internet we all know and love grows a little smaller everyday.
What can I do, you ask? I'm just one person. Well, for one thing, refuse to use Virgin products and services. If your house runs on Virgin ISP, talk your parents into changing their service. If you use a Virgin Mobile cell phone, throw it away, and cancel your plan. Don't fly on their airline. if you live in the states, as I do, we can go one step further. go to
Save the Internet. Click your state, find your representative, or get your parents to do it. Explain how important this is. Call your state representative. Talk to them about the issue, and what you think. Myself, I'll fly to Washington, and shake Representative Sheila Jackson Lee right out of her "undecided" position myself, if I have to.
It's time we made a stand. To not make one is to silently agree with those who would oppress us. To not fight for what we are due would be a slap in the face of our forefathers, who originally fought so hard for our freedoms.
Internet is much like the Radio was, when it was first established. Originally, the Radio was the Soapbox. The American people took their right to assembly and their freedom of speech, but could reach thousands, even thousands of thousands, with a single voice, but the government quickly put an end to that. Let's show them that the internet is too big to be contained, too powerful to be collared. Show them that we will stand up for freedom of information, and refuse to be herded into their comfort zone. We are not sheep. We're human beings, damnit, and we will fight for what we believe in.
Net Neutrality is the cornerstone of innovation, free speech and democracy on the Internet.
The Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009 (H.R. 3458) protects Net Neutrality by ensuring that the Internet is free from blocking, censorship and discrimination.
More than 1.5 million Americans have already called on Congress to protect Net Neutrality. Please stand with us by co-sponsoring the Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009.
