Liberal political powerhouse MoveOn.org has set it sites on the “net neutrality” issue. The famed 527 grassroots and political lobbying organization sent out an email today asking its three million-plus email contacts to sign a petition asking Congress to vote for “meaningful and enforceable net neutrality laws.”
Perhaps MoveOn.Org got religion following its run-in with AOL. In fact, the group cites AOL’s supposed decision to block MoveOn.Org’s emails in its discussion of net neutrality. From the email:
MoveOn has already seen what happens when the Internet’s gatekeepers get too much control. Just last week, AOL blocked any email mentioning a coalition that MoveOn is a part of, which opposes AOL’s proposed “email tax.”2 And last year, Canada’s version of AT&T—Telus—blocked their Internet customers from visiting a website sympathetic to workers with whom Telus was negotiating.
You may recall that MoveOn.org last week sent out a mass email (very much like the one on net neutrality) asking folks to sign a petition to stop what they call AOL’s “email tax,” a premium fee that ensures emails make their way to recipients. MoveOn claims that AOL blocked its emails; AOL says it was a glitch in the system.
Surprisingly, MoveOn.Org doesn’t mistate the net neutrality issue by outright saying that broadband providers will block Internet sites. Mind you, they imply that will happen, but they get the message right — net neutrality proponents fear second-class status for non-affiliated Internet sites and services, not outright blockage.
If Net Neutrality is gutted, MoveOn either pays protection money to dominant Internet providers or risks that online activism tools don’t work for members. Amazon and Google either pay protection money or risk that their websites process slowly on your computer. That why these high-tech pioneers are joining the fight to protect Network Neutrality1—and you can do your part today.
Cynthia Brumfield at 7:44 PM|Comments(1)
Well, I don't think that there's any explanation that will satisfy the perpetual conspiracy theorists at moveon. My fear is that we will introduce governmental regulation on the false grounds the companies will block Internet sites (as is certainly the implication of the moveon quote). For those who worry about a government-operated Internet, that is a scary thought.
Posted by: lessgov at April 21, 2006 9:48 PM
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