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AN OPEN INTERNET IS PART OF FREE SPEECH AND FREE SPEECH IF PART OF EVERY AMERICAN'S CIVIL RIGHTS. TO REGULATE IT IS TO TAKE AWAY ONE OF OUR CIVIL RIGHTS, THIS MUST NOT HAPPEN EVER IF WE HOPE TO KEEP A FREE SOCIETY.

Obviously we need to come up with a detailed technical language in order for this law to be effective, but the fundamental point remains that neutrality is crucial to the betterment of our access to information.

I work in telecommunication, and I know exactly what the big providers want to do with throttling. The doors that it opens up are purely insane to even think about, after having 15 years of free and open access... more »

Packets should be treated like US mail. while they are in transit, they are sacred and their integrity is sacrosanct.

Nobody, anywhere in the network, should have any right whatsoever to look at data, shape data, count data, or anything like that. Especially for the purposes of controlling it.

the best way to accomplish this is to make sure there are absolutely no proprietary portions of the internet. right now huge... more »

No bandwidth caps and no unreasonable price increases. ISP's cap bandwidth not to save money, but to increase profits by charging people more for additional bandwidth. My friend works for an ISP and it cost the ISP next to nothing to provide you with service especially if the network is well used. The money you pay is almost entirely profits for the ISP.

When an ISP caps bandwidth, it is a way to cause people to use... more »

There are very few things that the constitution actually spells out as duties of the government. Silencing free speech is not one of them. Want jobs, economic growth, and REVENUE? Get out of the way of business owners and watch the economy grow. Want REAL freedom of speech and opportunity? Get government out of the way. This "net neutrality" crap is just one of the many angles from which the liberals/democrats are attacking... more »

The only people who would be against net neutral legislation would be those who stand to lose money from it. Don't let anyone tell you this is about the government controlling your internet. This is about companies trying to control your internet. Don't let them.

 

Support open access to the web. Support net neutrality.

The ISPs have proven, through all manner of actions taken in recent months and years, that they have no interest the freedom of speech or free flow of information. The government needs to adopt net neutrality rules to guarantee that open exchange for America; failing to do so would let private companies limit our first amendment rights as they see fit.

The purpose of the FCC is to create legislation to protect the communication infrastructure. And that's exactly what net neutrality is -- protecting the communication infrastructure from greedy corporations that want to monetize, control and conquer something that is a shared resource -- our precious internet.

Not all governmental regulation is bad, obviously. In this case, it's very good, and very welcome -- it's basically... more »

Imagine you picked up the phone to order a Papa John's and Ma Bell tried to steer you towards Dominos Pizza instead, because Dominos pays them commission on your order. Extreme, yes, but illustrative of "traffic prioritization" arrangements that will develop if we don't insist on Net Neutrality. Net Neutrality is fundamental to an Open Internet. Don't be distracted by FUD.

The Internet, as we currently know it, is descended from the Bulletin Board Systems of the past. BBSes were the epitome of freedom for the first generation of home PC users. That same sense of freedom was shared with the internet by BBS networks such as Fidonet, as well as newsgroups. Ever since those days, the internet itself has come to represent "true freedom"- freedom from opinion and repression, freedom of thought... more »

Senator McCain (AZ) just introduced the inaptly-named "Internet Freedom Act," (S.1836) in which he and cosponsors propose to allow those things which the government's Open Internet proposal specifically prohibits.

Senator McCain "called the proposed Net neutrality rules a 'government takeover' of the Internet that will stifle innovation and depress an 'already anemic' job market in the US." (rawstory.com)

He further... more »

it is important that the political discussions that occur on the internet remain free from regulation so that free speech can remain the cornerstone of our democracy

Every country controls the 4 Pillars of power: Legislation, Politics, Lawenforcment and Military. But there is a 5th Pillar in every free counry and that is the Media. A free Press is essential to control the Government who is by definition our administration. History has shown us how important that is. It was the free press that ended Richard Nixons presidency, it was the free press that told the people of the world... more »

“If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquillity of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, — go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!” -Sam Adams

The only FREE internet is an unregulated one. Regulation is domestication of the human mind. Stay free... more »

Government has already grown faster than we can afford to feed it. I personally would like to see a smaller government and LESS government in our lives. It's unsatible appetite for more power will consume the people that it is suppose to work for. Government has become so big, I feel WE now work for them. If you are afraid of a monopoly--the government would be the biggest one--with no competition to keep them in... more »