Freedom of Information on the Internet
Freedom of Information On the Internet
Net Neutrality Agreement
Just as the takeover of the House and Senate by the Democrats gave us a brief respite, so too does a recent agreement with AT&T forced through by the two democratic members of the FCC (Federal Communications Commission). In order to gain the largest telecommunications merger in history, at $86 billion, AT&T made some concessions. The most important one was to agree that all Internet content travel equally over its lines. The fight to maintain and protect net neutrality waged by progressive grassroots organizations caused AT&T to give in to the demand.
Without net neutrality, AT&T and other large Internet providers would be able to manipulate the information traveling over their wires by setting costs for data transmission. Those with more money would be able to place their information over higher-speed networks.
The Internet has become a tool for progressive organizing all over the world. And, protection is not yet assured, as the agreement is in place for only two years. We must demand that the Democrats pass legislation to permanently protect net neutrality and thus equal access to information.