Day of Action: Internet-Wide Blackout on July 12th (#NetNeutrality)

[Apollo Chungus]

Net Neutrality is the idea that Internet service providers should enable people to access all content and applications, regardless of who is accessing it or from where, and without favouring or blocking particular products or websites. It is, in short, the idea that the Internet should be free for everyone.

Obviously, not everyone agrees with this idea; in particular, cable companies such as Comcast and Verizon have spent the last few years trying to stop net neutrality from becoming a thing, so that they can obtain even more control over what people can and can't access (consider how Verizon won't allow non-subscribers to use Tumblr ever since acquiring it this year). Because of the influence these types of companies can have on law, people picked up to what they were doing and began campaigning for the FCC to do something about it.

In 2015, after a long struggle, the FCC took action to rule in favour of net neutrality by re-branding the internet as a telecommunications service, therefore applying Title II common carrier rules to service providers. This looked to be the end of the struggle, with net neutrality coming out victorious and the Internet being free for anyone to use. However, with the FCC's new president, Ajit Pai (a long-time critic of net neutrality), taking steps to dismantle those rules and allowing cable companies the 'option' of not being total dicks to their customers, the fight as started up once more.

Tomorrow morning, on the 12th of July, several big name websites such as Netflix, Amazon, Facebook and too many others to mention are going on a day-long blackout, with an open declaration protesting against what the FCC plans to do. Hopefully, this will have the same kind of effect that the Internet Blackout Day in 2011 had on the SOPA and PIPA by killing most if not all credibility in the idea. But to really succeed, this needs exposure.

So, I'm making this post to ask anyone here who gives a shit about net neutrality to spread awareness of the Day of Action. Make edits to your social media profiles to mark the possible future of the internet, link to websites such as Fight For The Future, and write a letter to the FCC or Congress if you like the USA. Do whatever you can to help; it'll go a long way.

https://www.battleforthenet.com/

July 12th is just tomorrow morning. Good luck, everyone.

[Polkadi~☆]

Before we all go on a blackout to protest this, let me make one thing clear to all the cable providers approving removing net neutrality:

Do not fuck with our shit.

[Dizcrybe]

I'm torn on whether or not to go down there, but I think it's too late to RSVP anyway.

[Detective Kaito]

They're trying to block all the hentai. We now have a problem.

[Mick]

I went outside for a nice walk in my vicinity.  I expected more people to be outside on July 12th.  Oh well, I guess they were just inside doing non-Internet things.  Heh!