Chapter 5

Save The Internet

This is something interesting going on, a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would stop big providers (Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, etc) from trying to control the free flow of information on the internet.

In plain english, this bill will stop internet providers from creating "roadblocks" on the information superhighway. It will protect the freedoms that we sometimes take for granted when we go online - mainly that we will be able to look at the websites we want to, say what we want in our blogs (and have others be able to read them!), view streaming video put up by websites that we enjoy visiting, etc. Its like freedom of speech, and of the press, as it relates to the internet.

This reminds me of book banning, those in positions of power taking books away from the public without regard to each person's right to read whatever they want. A current example of an attempt at book banning is happening in Georgia right now, where a parent is attempting to have the Harry Potter books removed from shelves in all libraries (school AND public) because she feels they are anti-god, or anti-religious, or whatever. Its one thing for her to censor her children by not allowing them to read certain books, its a whole other thing for her to think she's got the right to go the great lengths to have those same books removed from public access.

If those who provide the internet access begin to control what information will be available for public view, we run into the same issue. One person, or a group of people, preventing the public to pick and choose which sites they visit based on their personal likes. As with the above example, in each household, if the person who controls the computer (ex. a parent) wants to keep certain people in the household (ex. children) from looking at certain sites that is just fine, and there are many ways to do that. However, I don't want anyone (comcast, verizon, etc) trying to tell me which sites I can access when I go surfing on the web. That is up to me.