[WSIS CS-Plenary] FW: Congress Is Selling Out the Internet

[Rui Correia]

________________________________________________
 
 
Rui Correia
Advocacy, Media and Language Consultant
38 Finch St,
Ontdekkers Park, Roodepoort,
Johannesburg, South Africa
Tel/ Fax (+27-11) 766-4336
Cell (+27) (0) 83-368-1214

"Quando a verdade é substituída pelo silêncio, o silêncio é uma mentira" -
Yevgeny Yevtushenko
"When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie" - Yevgeny
Yevtushenko



-----Original Message-----
From: Robert McChesney, FreePress.net [mailto:list at freepress.net] 
Sent: 21 April 2006 16:31
To: correia.rui at gmail.com
Subject: Congress Is Selling Out the Internet

 


 <http://www.freepress.net/> free press action alert



Dear media reformer, 


 <http://www.savetheinternet.com> Rep. Joe
Barton

Congress Sells Out

After accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from big
telecom firms, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) is sponsoring a bill to hand over
the Internet to these same companies. He's not alone.

Where Does Your Representative <http://www.savetheinternet.com/=map>  Stand?

Act <http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet/i78wn3b2rjnx8jd?>  Now:
Save the Internet

Congress is about to sell out the Internet by letting big phone and cable
companies set up toll booths along the information superhighway. 

Companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast are spending tens of millions in
Washington to kill "network neutrality" -- a principle that keeps the
Internet open to all. 

A bill moving quickly through Congress would let these companies become
Internet gatekeepers, deciding which Web sites go fast or slow -- and which
won't load at all -- based on who pays them more. The rest of us will be
detoured to the "slow lane," clicking furiously and waiting for our favorite
sites to download. 

Don't let Congress ruin the Internet: 

 <http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet/i78wn3b2rjnx8jd?> Tell
Congress to Save Net Neutrality Now 

Our elected representatives are trading favors for campaign donations from
phone and cable companies. They're being wooed by people like AT&T's CEO,
who says "the Internet can't be free" and wants to decide what you do, where
you go and what you watch online. 

The best ideas never come from those with the deepest pockets. If the phone
and cable companies get their way, the free and open Internet could soon be
fenced in by large corporations. If Congress turns the Internet over to
giants like AT&T, everyone who uses the Internet will suffer: 

*	Google users -- Another search engine could pay AT&T to guarantee
that it opens faster than Google on your computer. 

 

*	iPod listeners -- Comcast could slow access to iTunes, steering you
to a higher-priced music service that paid for the privilege. 

 

*	Work-at-home parents -- Connecting to your office could take longer
if you don't purchase your carrier's preferred applications. Sending family
photos and videos could slow to a crawl. 

 

*	Retirees -- Web pages you always use for online banking, access to
health care information, planning a trip or communicating with friends and
family could fall victim to Verizon's pay-for-speed schemes. 

 

*	Bloggers -- Costs will skyrocket to post and share video and audio
clips -- silencing citizen journalists and amplifying the mainstream media. 

 

*	Online activists -- Political organizing could be slowed by the
handful of dominant Internet providers who ask advocacy groups to pay a fee
to join the "fast lane." 

 

*	Small businesses -- When AT&T favors their own services, you won't
be able to choose more affordable providers for online video,
teleconferencing, and Internet phone calls. 

 

*	Innovators with the "next big idea" -- Startups and entrepreneurs
will be muscled out of the marketplace by big corporations that pay for a
top spot on the Web. 

We can't let Congress ruin the free and open Internet. 

 <http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet/i78wn3b2rjnx8jd?> Let
Congress Know that You Want Net Neutrality Now 

We must act now or lose the Internet as we know it.

Onward, 

Robert W. McChesney
President
Free Press
www.freepress.net 

P.S. Visit www.SavetheInternet.com to contact your representative, learn
more about this issue, and discuss this campaign with other activists. 

P.P.S. Tell your <http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet/forward>
friends about this campaign.

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for the Free
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<http://action.freepress.net/freepress/join.html?r=LpMdYTE1mj1kE&> & 

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