Net Neutrality, the FCC and You

Our inaugural show will feature guests, Tim Karr from FreePress.net along with Coffee Party members Bennett "Mel" Liles and Atlanta group Online/New Media Coordinator and Group Co-Coordinator Jens Palsgaard discussing the topic of net neutrality with your host, Atlanta Group Co-Coordinator Stacey Hopkins. With the advent of the Internet, another tool was added for Americans to participate in our democratic process and uphold one of our most vital principles as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution – freedom of speech. Net neutrality is based upon the principle that Internet users should be able to access any web content they want, post their own content, and use any applications they choose, without restrictions or limitations imposed by their Internet service providers (ISPs). There’s a battle brewing in Washington, D.C. over the future of the internet waged by the big media companies on the issue of net neutrality and the question of whether the Internet is a medium of communications like the others the FCC has historically regulated, or just an information service beyond most government oversight as the media companies would like to have the power to censor internet content they don’t like and manipulate the speed of web traffic which would basically allow them to discriminate against certain customers. Join us as we discuss this issue as well as the pending Comcast-NBC Universal merger and its relevance to net neutrality and how citizens can fight to keep the internet open and available to everyone.