This net neutrality stuff – it needs your attention. You love reading NextTribe online as much as we love creating it. And you go to the web for recipes, Facebooking friends, and a million other reasons. Your service is very much at risk if net neutrality (meaning free and equal access to all internet sources, without any preferential treatment) goes away.
Basically, the upcoming vote on December 14th will allow internet providers to charge for faster service, so smaller sites (hey, that’s us!) may be slowed down to a massively frustrating crawl. The big guys (Google, Amazon and so forth) will be able to pay to keep things flowing, and that money will go into the pockets of internet service providers. Consumers like you may see a hike in your monthly access charges, too.
Who thought up this scheme? Many are fingering the new FCC commissioner who is a telecom crony; if the vote kills free and equal online access, his pals will get a big money boost. Read up and judge for yourself, but if you want to take action (we do), here’s a good guide from our friends at Mashable. Also, signing this petition and contacting the FCC can make a huge difference.
Here are steps for contacting the FCC, provided by NextTriber Maria Whitsett:
Using a computer or iPad (not a mobile device), go to the FCC ECFS Express Website:
https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings/express; if the selection is available, you will want to be sure you’ve chosen “Express comment” from the menu at the top of the page, right underneath “Submit a filing.” Then:
1. Enter (under “Proceeding”) the numbers 17-108.
2. Filer: That’s you. Enter your name.
3. In comments, say: “I support Title 2 oversight of ISPs and I support net neutrality.” Or provide your own language along these lines.
And that’s it! You should receive a number in confirmation of the submission.
–Janet Siroto
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