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Across the country, people are joining the online day of action to Stop the Internet Slowdown to defend Net Neutrality . Net neutrality is the principle that all Internet traffic be treated equally, regardless of origin, destination, or application type).
Ottawa (10 Sept. 2014) — As you may have heard, telecommunications conglomerates want to slow down your Internet and make online services more expensive. But so far, net neutrality rules in several countries have banned their interference.
The U.S., Canada, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, and the Netherlands are among those countries that have passed rules to prevent telecom giants from selectively slowing down web services or making them more expensive. The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) has been involved in the campaign to defend net neutrality.
Attack on the open Internet
However, decision makers in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and the European Union are considering changing their rules. The outcome will either secure the open Internet or hand immense power over to telecom conglomerates. Under pressure from lobbyists, leaders from around the world are looking at implementing plans that would allow telecommunications companies to charge extra prioritization fees for websites that can afford it, and push those that can’t into a slow-lane.
In the next few days, U.S. decision makers at the Federal Communications Commission are closing formal comments on the issue. If they decide to let telecom giants slow down access to websites and online services, it could have a domino effect in countries around the world. As many of peoples' favourite websites are housed in the U.S., people will feel the new slowdown regardless of where they live.
Defending Net Neutrality
In response, OpenMedia and a network of over 60 organizations from 25 countries launched an international campaign to oppose the move. Web companies, like Reddit and Fark, joined with digital groups, like OpenMedia, and civil society groups, like 350.org, Greenpeace International, and RootsAction to present a united front to speak out about how this plan would negatively affect how the public experiences the Internet, and how it will have knock-on effects for countries worldwide.
On September 10, sites across the web will display an alert with a symbolic "loading" symbol (the proverbial “spinning wheel of death”) and promote a call to action for users to push comments to key decision makers.
Major Internet players involved
Given the players involved, this could be a watershed moment. Using OpenMedia's platform to mobilize a global network is a key piece of the puzzle. Netflix, Mozilla, Vimeo, FourSquare and many others have already signed up for the day of action!
To find out how you can support this day of action, go to OpenMedia's website for more ways to get involved.
More information:
The National Union on Net Neutrality
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE