Several websites, including Netflix, launched a protest today in support of net neutrality, which faces a heated battle against the Federal Communications Commission and the major cable companies, like Comcast, that provide broadband service.
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Net neutrality activists believe that providers are using recent rulings to form a two-tiered system, where providers can charge companies (many of whom are cash-strapped startups) extra money for improved service to get to your devices.
A slew of websites and internet activists, including Netflix, Tumblr and Etsy joined together for an intentional internet slow-down to show customers how the web could look if providers get their way.
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"Cable companies are famous for high prices and poor service," according to the website Battle For The Net, the group leading the protest. "Several rank as the most hated companies in America. Now, they're attacking the Internet--their one competitor and our only refuge-with plans to charge websites arbitrary fees and slow (to a crawl) any sites that won't pay up."
Even though the issue is cloaked in plenty of boring legalese, Battle For The Net sees the stakes as very high.
"If they win," the group warns, "the Internet dies."
The protesters won an important supporter in House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi earlier this week, who wrote a letter to the FCC, published Monday, asking that broadband be regulated like a utility.
