Sign our petition to the FCC demanding strong Net Neutrality:
Real people all across this country depend on Net Neutrality and the Internet to drive innovation, protect free speech, and earn a living. Here are their stories:
Walter Newsom, musician, Westland, MI
I have been writing music for over 30 years. Now, after all these years, I have a song that could be 'the one'. I need YouTube to make it happen. I don't want to see YouTube or any other net site compromised by killing Net Neutrality or any other actions.
I don't speak only for myself -- I speak for the many people who have always had the talent but not the connections to see their abilities rewarded with a potentially worldwide audience. The Internet provides that. No one should take it away from us.
I'm 54 years young. I toiled and sweated for 31 years in a Big Three auto factory. I have a chance -- right now -- to do the unthinkable; achieve success with my music without a record contract. I -- and all of us who aspire to achieve -- deserve to be able to utilize these remarkable tools. I ask that anyone who would do anything to put the Internet and real Net Neutality in peril to please reconsider.
My message to Commissioners Copps and Clyburn: It's very simple -- make the right decisions.
Craig Stern, software developer, Chicago, IL
I am an independent game developer. The internet is crucially important to developers because it provides the only free, unfettered global marketplace on earth.
All other marketplaces are either tied up with specific hardware, have gatekeepers who impose strict limits on what games they will sell, or impose format restrictions that make it nearly impossible to get noticed. And you can forget brick-and-mortar stores--the cost to physically publish games is extremely high, and shelf space is at a premium, reserved almost exclusively for big developers.
The internet provides a viable alternative to these stores precisely because there is no gatekeeper: no central authority decides what games get sold. Allowing big corporations to pick and choose winners on the internet could potentially sabotage the growing independent game developer community and hurt commerce in a very real way by restricting what games people see online.
My message to Commissioners Copps and Clyburn: We desperately need strong Net Neutrality rules to keep markets free from monopolistic activity and allow the next generation of burgeoning entrepreneurs to flourish. If you accept weak rules, the consequences could be quite dire. We are counting on you.
Todd Lockwood, illustrator, Bonny Lake, WA
I'm a small business owner who depends on Internet sales for part of my income. It could be incredibly damaging to me if I have to compete with Wal-Mart or Amazon for bandwidth on a skewed playing field. This would be like allowing a Wal-Mart superstore to go up right in the parking lot of my little store.
My message to Commissioners Copps and Clyburn: A world without real Net Neutrality is just unfair. Please keep this playing field level.
Krystal Kelly, mother and small business owner, Charlotte, NC
I'm a single work-at-home mom supporting my children with the money I make via various small businesses. The Internet has been a godsend to me. I save nearly $800 a month on child care costs, and I'm home with my son during the day and when my daughter gets home from school. Net neutrality ensures my way of life as well as improves my children's lives.
My message to Commissioners Copps and Clyburn: There are literally thousands of mothers able to stay at home with our children as we earn money for our households because of the Internet. We need strong Net Neutrality rules in place to safeguard our ways of life.
Do not cave to big business on this one. The stakes are way too high.
David Fetter, entrepreneur, Oakland, CA
As an entrepreneur, I was able to start businesses in the presence of many gigantic competitors precisely because the Internet was neutral.
Howard Evans, small business owner, Blue Hill, ME
I count on the Internet to be a level playing field -- a place where I can communicate just as easily as those with more money or more political clout.
My message or Commissioners Copps and Clyburn: As democracy is important to and for all Americans, I urge you to stand up now for a real, tough, neutral Internet.
Ads pressuring the FCC (click for image):
