Advertising For Success: Save the Internet and Net Neutrality

What do you think about Free Speech and the Internet?

Read these notices below. Whether you agree with what Pearl Jam had to say about our President, I think you would agree they had the right to sing it without being censored.

Concert Webcast Raises Censorship Issues

When rock band Pearl Jam sung the lyrics, "George Bush, leave this world alone," at a music festival over the weekend, AT&T edited the lyrics from its "live" Webcast -- a foreshadowing of things to come without a Net Neutrality law.

Dionne Searcey, Wall Street Journal

AT&T Drops Pearl Jam's Call

Pearl Jam complained that AT&T delivered less than the band's full performance during its Lollapalooza Webcast by censoring a lyric about George Bush, and fueled the forces arguing for Net Neutrality.

Jon Healey, Los Angeles Times

Lollapalooza Webcast -- Sponsored or Censored by AT&T?

After concluding their show at Lollapalooza, Pearl Jam fans informed the band that portions of the performance were missing and may have been censored by AT&T during a live Webcast.

Pearl Jam

How does this threat to Internet freedom affect you?

Small businesses—The little guy will be left in the "slow lane" with inferior Internet service, unable to compete.
Innovators with the next big idea—Startups and entrepreneurs will be muscled out of the marketplace by big corporations that pay Internet providers for the top spots on the Web.
Bloggers—Costs will skyrocket to post and share video and audio clips—silencing citizen journalists and putting more power in the hands of a few corporate-owned media outlets.
Google users—Another search engine could pay dominant Internet providers like AT&T to guarantee another search engine opens faster than Google on your computer.
Ipod listeners—A company like Comcast could slow access to iTunes, steering you to a higher-priced music service it owns.
Online shoppers—Companies could pay Internet providers to guarantee their online sales process faster than competitors with lower prices—distorting your choices as a consumer.
Telecommuters—When Internet companies like AT&T favor their own services, you won't be able to choose more affordable providers for online video, teleconferencing, Internet phone calls, and software that connects your home computer to your office.
Parents and retirees—Your choices as a consumer could be controlled by your Internet provider, steering you to their preferred services for online banking, health care information, sending photos, planning vacations, etc.
Political groups—Political organizing could be slowed by a handful of dominant Internet providers who ask advocacy groups to pay "protection money" for their Web sites and online features to work correctly.
Nonprofits—A charity's website could open at snail-like speeds, and online contributions could grind to a halt if nonprofits don't pay Internet providers for access to "the fast lane."

You can help make the internet faster, more open and accessible to all. Tell Congress to preserve Net Neutrality and help ensure that the benefits and promise of the Internet are available to all Americans and not just those who can afford DSL.