You Roared, They Caved

Time Warner Cable’s price-gouging scheme came crashing down this past Friday.

In a spectacular victory for Free Press and supporters like you, the company buckled under public pressure and abandoned its plan to impose Internet penalties against those who go online for more than email and basic Web surfing.

If they had gotten away with this scam, users of online innovations like Web video and radio would have been forced to pay up to $100 more per month for full broadband service.

Time Warner Cable didn’t cave because of a sudden spurt of good conscience. They reacted to a torrent of protest from Free Press members and from Internet users across the country.

Savor this victory, because it belongs to you. You proved -- again -- that when we pull together, we can defend our online rights against even the biggest of Big Media giants.

But this fight isn’t over. The threat of this kind of price gouging is not going away. Big media companies like Time Warner Cable, Comcast and AT&T know that the new media landscape -- with Internet users watching video at YouTube, listening to radio at Pandora and making phone calls using applications like Skype -- is a threat to their monopoly control.

They’ll do whatever it takes to protect their profits and limit your freedoms.
Our victory is a lesson in what we’ll need to keep doing to stop these companies from squeezing our use of the Internet:

In less than a week, Free Press generated more than 16,000 letters to Congress, urging members to launch an immediate investigation of Time Warner Cable.

Our policy advocates are working with pro-Internet policymakers on Capitol Hill to stop these sorts of anti-competitive scams and make sure more Americans can get online.

Our media outreach fueled a withering barrage of negative press (including mention of our work in more than 50 prominent news stories), consumer complaints, blog postings, and other opposition to Time Warner Cable's scheme.

This week’s victory over Time Warner Cable proved what we can do when we pull together. Pat yourself on the back!

Save the Internet

When we log onto the Internet, we take a lot for granted. We assume we'll be able to access any Web site we want, whenever we want, at the fastest speed, whether it's a corporate or mom-and-pop site. We assume that we can use any service we like -- watching online video, listening to podcasts, sending instant messages -- anytime we choose.

What makes all these assumptions possible is Network Neutrality.

Network Neutrality -- or "Net Neutrality" for short -- is the guiding principle that preserves the free and open Internet. Put simply, Net Neutrality means no discrimination. Net Neutrality prevents Internet providers from blocking, speeding up or slowing down Web content based on its source, ownership or destination.

Who wants to get rid of Net Neutrality?

The nation's largest telephone and cable companies -- including AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner -- want to be Internet gatekeepers, deciding which Web sites go fast or slow and which won't load at all.

But as a consequence of a 2005 decision by the Federal Communications Commission, Net Neutrality -- the foundation of the free and open Internet -- was put in jeopardy. Now cable and phone company lobbyists are pushing to block legislation that would reinstate Net Neutrality.

Writing Net Neutrality into law would preserve the freedoms we currently enjoy on the Internet. For all their talk about "deregulation," the cable and telephone giants don't want real competition. They want special rules written in their favor.

Learn how to tell apart the myths from the realities in this report, Network Neutrality: Fact vs. Fiction.

Who's part of the SavetheInternet.com Coalition?

The Save the Internet coalition is made up of hundreds of groups from across the political spectrum that are concerned about maintaining a free and open Internet. No corporation or political party funds our efforts. We simply agree to a statement of principles in support of Internet freedom.
The coalition is being coordinated by Free Press, a national, nonpartisan organization focused on media reform and Internet policy issues.

What can I do to help?

• Sign the Save the Internet petition.
• Call your members of Congress today and demand that Net Neutrality be protected.
• Encourage groups you're part of to sign the "Internet Freedom Declaration of 2007".
• Show your support for Internet freedom on your Web site or blog.
• Tell your friends about this crucial issue before it's too late.

If you are interested in Saving the Internet, write about it on your blog, then link to Mr. Linky below by using the permalink to your post.