WS Chronicle

It’s happening again. Agents of President Donald Trump are leading the way against a popular rule that is helping people of color and those less fortunate. The rule now prevents internet service providers (ISPs) from charging people and companies extra money for fast internet service. President Trump and his agents want to drop the rule. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) makes the rules.

We might not realize it, but Net Neutrality is leveling the playing field on the internet. Large ISPs, which control how much of America gains access to the internet, are licking their chops as they calculate how much money they can make in the rule change. They will function as a big monopoly to decide on access and speeds according to who pays the most money. It’s in essence “pay to play” rules.

Getting rid of Net Neutrality will allow ISPs to deliberately slow down internet sites that don’t pay the money they are asking for. Some call it the “fast lane” for those who will pay.

The American public’s outcry stopped a similar move under the Obama administration. Eventually, President Barack Obama spoke out against changing the rule. But now, President Trump is in office, opposing everything President Obama supported, it seems.

John Nichols of The Nation magazine says “Net neutrality is the First Amendment of the Internet.”

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, a former Verizon lawyer appointed by President Trump, has been racing to eliminate net neutrality, Nichols says. Pai plans to have the FCC vote on Dec. 14.

Nichols presented the words of Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chairs Mark Pocan of Wisconsin and Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, who say, “If [Pai] is successful, Chairman Pai will hand the keys to our open internet to major corporations to charge more for a tiered system where wealthy and powerful websites can pay to have their content delivered faster to consumers. This leaves smaller, independent websites with slower load times and consumers with obstructed access to the internet – a particularly harmful decision for communities of color, students, and online activists. This is an assault on the freedom of speech and therefore our democracy.”

The Chronicle would be affected if our website slows down under the rule change.

Let your voice against this move be heard before Dec. 14:

*View a video explaining what is happening at https://youtu.be/92vuuZt7wak, then go to http://gofccyourself.com/ to make a comment to the FCC.

*Contact your representatives and senators in Congress to protest the move and demand lawmakers stop it. (The FCC has to answer to Congress.) For senators and representatives, call the United States Capitol switchboardat 202-224-3121.