Save the Internet

There's been much talk lately about the Net Neutrality Act and what it means for the future of the web. Will the government gut the Act and allow carriers like Verizon and At&T to begin charging everyone who uses their pipes, essentially rendering the concept of a "free" internet archaic and driving small business offline? Or will common sense prevail and allow the powers-that-be to realize that free commerce is what made them all millionaires in the first place?

I'm not sure how much of this is a scam and how much of it is legit, but I figure if Ask a Ninja is worried enough to ask its fans to visit MoveOn.org, we here at STBD can do the same. I signed the online petition yesterday, and today I see the following in my inbox, from MoveOn:

"Dear MoveOn blogger,

This Wednesday, an important House committee caved to big companies like AT&T and voted to gut Network Neutrality, the Internet's First Amendment. Net Neutrality makes sure all online speech is treated equally, preventing AT&T from choosing which sites you go to.

Your representative, Michael Doyle, courageously voted FOR Internet freedom every step of the way. Fortunately, the fight's not over. The vote is expected to go to the full House next week, and now's the time to let members of Congress know the public has their back if they do the right thing."

Cheers to Michael Doyle for doing the smart thing and keeping the internet playing field level. His may have been the voice of the minority on this issue, but that doesn't mean the issue is all wrapped up. Hopefully wiser heads will come to their senses during the next vote.

If you'd like to call your representative and let him or her know how you feel about the issue, you can get the numbers here.

Read the summary of the vote here.

My two cents? I can see big companies nickel-and-diming small business off the internet, but it really doesn't make sense at all. Without those small business using the internet, who would? The net is the one place we can currently go to escape the corporations, so if they force the little guy off the map, the freedom fighting geeks around the world will simply make a different internet workaround and the smaller businesses will migrate there.

Let's just hope common sense prevails.