Many of you may not be aware of yet another serious threat to our constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech. This time the threat concerns access to the internet. Large telecoms, through their license as Internet Service Providers, and their forever insatiable 'need' to make more money, are planning on creating a tiered internet access system much the way they currently use for cable television.
A tiered charging system may work fine for access to entertainment, but access to information, news, and forums for the exchange of opinions should not be hindered in any way, let alone charged for. Charging a higher fee for internet access in effect dictates how much access you have to the flow of news and information. This restriction will result in slowing down the very growth of the internet and is tantamount to controlling the free flow of ideas and opinions which is one of the tenets of Fascism.
If only a few can afford access to news and information then those few will be the ones who determine what passes for news and information. A free society cannot survive under this type of control. An open internet is a form of checks and balances to what politicians as well as corporations are allowed to say and do publicly. Can you imagine a world without unbiased news sources? This is what tiered pricing will lead to.
As we are forced to pay more for the amount of data we are accessing and posting, i.e., opinions, we will most likely begin not expressing those opinions thereby narrowing the rich, diverse free flow exchange of ideas that has allowed the internet to grow at such an exponential rate.
Internet access should be viewed much like our system of public libraries: free access to all. Information in a society as large as ours demands that all individuals be given access to the latest news and views in order to keep us all informed concerning what our political leaders are up to.
Write your congressperson and demand that the internet be unfettered by greedy corporations. Explain that if their plans are allowed to go forward the free flow of information and creativity will dry up and the very foundation of our great nation will suffer bringing us ever closer to Fascism. We, the general public realize that their pursuit of more money is at the heart of the destruction of the United States of America. We simply must pull together and allow everyone the right to voice opinions and keep up to date on world and national events, without having to choose between spending our after tax dollars on data or food and shelter.
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