With Black Friday and Cyber Monday just behind us and the busy holiday shopping season still very much in swing, our free and open Internet is still at risk. We have tried to fend off the attacks, but the Federal Communications Committee (FCC) is now calling for a December 14 vote to end Net Neutrality as we know it.
What is Net Neutrality?
Right now we have access to every website from every Internet connection in the world. This freedom of information is easy to gloss over and often taken for granted. After all, this is all we know – the Internet started this way and has always been this way. Net Neutrality is the basic principle that protects our free speech on the Internet.
What are we fighting for?
Today, this very fundamental right is under threat. The companies that provide the Internet network connections (telecom and cable companies mostly) want to charge more for our right to access certain websites depending on the content within them. This will mean that the Internet will become more like cable TV, and will offer premium ‘channels/websites’ for an additional fee.
Furthermore, the free and open internet is fueling economic growth with e-commerce growing to nearly $400 billion in retail sales last year. Our current net neutrality rules support innovation and free and open competition for retailers and entrepreneurs.
The FCC recently released a draft order that would end this open commerce. Without net neutrality, internet service providers will be able to favor certain websites and e-businesses, or the platforms they use to garner new customers. They can control the speed at which content is delivered to visitors based on how much the websites and businesses pay.
What can we do about it?
At Shopkick, we proudly join many major tech companies including Airbnb, Reddit, and Pinterest in the fight to save Net Neutrality. Together, we can stop censorship and corruption. Our recent letter to the FCC warned of this disastrous net neutrality reversal.
This is one step in the right direction, but everyone’s help is needed. Join the battle to save the Internet.
