This Wednesday September 10 is “Internet Slowdown” day. It’s a day of global protest to draw attention to the fact that the USA’s Federal Communication Commission is considering internet rules that would provide “fast lanes” for those who can pay (i.e. big commercial entities) and cow paths for the rest of us. Just FYI:
- The head of the FCC proposed this rule change. He is a former lobbyist for the cellular and cable industry (the same folks who will be charging more money for the fast lanes).
- Over 800,000 comments have been filed with the FCC, and 99% of those comments oppose this rule change.
- Get up to speed (no pun intended) here, then
- Share your opinion –
- Learn about the WordPress widget for the Internet Defense League here.
- My internet speed is worse than a cow path. You can test your internet speed here, and see how you compare to the rest of the world here.
UPDATE: You’ll find some other interesting news about Internet Slowdown protests at The Guardian newspaper, Wired magazine, and Time magazine.
MK pix 
Definitely with you on this one. Written more letters than ever to a single issue. Done all the things you suggested. This one is BIG!!!
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I did too. Did your automatic reply from Tom Wheeler mention that “I’m a strong supporter of the Open Internet, and I will fight to keep the internet open”?
To me the internet is like Gutenberg and the invention of moveable type. It changed the world.
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Internet Slowdown Day?
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Not that the internet will be slower on September 10, no. It is a day to become active on the issue of rule changes that could relegate ordinary users and small businesses to slower internet speeds, while reserving higher speeds to large commercial entities that can pay for it.
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yikes, if mine slows down any more it will stop 🙂
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Me too! 😦
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rueful grin follows….. it said my upload was less than 1 mbps; did you see the list for countries; wow it says Hong Kong gets over 99 mbps download; mine’s under 19; it’s woeful…
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You’ve got nearly 19! Lucky you! I’m beginning to re-consider my choice of Internet Service Provider.
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I hope it works out ok for you; mine does offer a faster service, at a much higher price of course; I hope internet doesn’t end up like tv just not worth the price or out of our reach, but if it does, I’m glad I’m old enough to have lived most of my life without it all anyway, all the best 🙂
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Reblogged this on Eliza Waters and commented:
Here is a post that succinctly describes what’s at stake regarding the issue of Net Neutrality and what we all can do to make sure the internet remains free to all.
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Thanks for this post. I tested my speed and it is pretty sad how slow my internet is, I can’t imagine them making it even slower. ):-(
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I’m in the same boat. Make that a row boat! And if they decide to block websites that have “unwanted” content, make it a leaky row boat.
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What did we all do before social media and the internet ha? I love days when I just say “Ughh” to it all and go and sit on the beautiful land and just be present with life!
Karen
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I love those days the most! But … while I don’t Facebook or Tweet, I do rely on the internet for alternative news and information and community of a different sort. And, the internet has become the venue of choice for all business, including small businesses, self-employed people, crowd-sourcing of non-commercial strategies to tackle problems – the list is a long one. At a different level, I think the internet is the expression on a planetary level of our spreading global consciousness, just as the Gutenberg bible and the printing press were an expression of the desire of people to break out of old thought structures. It sounds grandiose, but I really do think that.
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Doesn’t sound grandiose at all MK. Good comeback to the hippy girl ha!
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🙂 Hippy thee, hippy me!
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nihil novi sub sole
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