Network Neutrality

"If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all." – Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky is the Institute Professor Emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is widely known for his political activism.

I have chosen this quote to write briefly on the subject of Network Neutrality. According to savetheinternet.com, network neutrality “ensures that the public can view the smallest blog just as easily as the largest corporate Web site by preventing Internet companies like AT&T from rigging the playing field for only the highest-paying sites.”

Congress is discussing a way to allow more popular websites to have higher access while slowing down access by competitors.

Senators Olympia Snow (R-Maine) and Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota) have introduced a bi-partisan measure, the “Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2006”. This could provide protection for Network Neutrality.

Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois) states at his website and in his weekly podcast, “It is because the Internet is a neutral platform that I can put out this podcast and transmit it over the Internet without having to go through any corporate media middleman. I can say what I want without censorship or without having to pay a special charge.But the big telephone and cable companies want to change the Internet as we know it. They say that they want to create high speed lanes on the Internet and strike exclusive contractual agreements with Internet content providers for access to those high speed lanes. Everyone who cannot pony up the cash will be relegated to the slow lanes."

I urge everyone to contact their U.S. Senator and let them know how important it is to protect your access to the internet.

To find your state’s senator, click http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?OrderBy=state&Sort=ASC