We’re more used to hearing them sing, but Eddie Vedder, Michael Stipe, Tom Morello, and many more are putting their voices to different use. A bevy of high-profile artists have joined the fight to save net neutrality.
You’ve likely heard some recent rumblings on net neutrality. It’s a knotty issue, but an extremely serious one. We are, in short, in danger of finding ourselves in a very different online reality than the one we’re accustomed to. A recent proposal by FCC (Federal Communications Commission) Chairman Tom Wheeler would allow internet service providers such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable to charge companies for internet “fast lanes”, essentially forcing them to purchase high-quality connections. Unsurprisingly, this has proven unpopular with literally everyone but ISPs and the people they’ve been paying, and the FCC has been hit by an incredible (and extremely satisfying) backlash. An open letter signed by 150 tech companies, including Google, Amazon, Netflix, and Facebook protested the changes, and helped spark the reaction.
Watch this video if you’d like a full explanation. And if you haven’t hit your daily rage quotient yet.
Vedder and co. are the latest high-profile figures to pitch in. A long list of musicians have signed on to an open letter to the FCC, which details the collaborative, creative benefits of an open web. Wheeler replied with the same line he’s given since the response began; i.e. “we’ll give them the power to be web-throttling monopolies…but we’ll make sure they use it responsibly.”
Sure.
It’s an important debate, and one all internet users are highly encouraged to join. Check out Save the Internet for more information, and directions on how to go about helping the effort.
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