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Networking

Call up the halcyon days of 2015 when the Federal Communications Commission voted to secure cyberspace neutrality in the United States? That was merely two years agone, but the FCC is already looking to reverse itself. Ajit Pai, current chair of the FCC, is doing his damnedest to weaken his ain commission's regulatory ability over ISPs. If that doesn't sit down right with you, at present's your chance to speak out against the then-called "Restoring Net Freedom" proposal.

While the process isn't as intuitive as we'd like, sending your comments to the FCC doesn't take much fourth dimension if you know how to do it. Then to streamline things, we desire to walk you through the process. First thing'southward first, caput to the "Express Annotate" page on the FCC website.

FCC Comment

Under the "Proceeding(s)" line, enter "17-108" in the text field. A drib-down should appear, and you'll want to select "17-108 | Restoring Internet Freedom" from the list. At present, enter all of your legitimate contact information. Fake submissions won't help the cause to protect net neutrality, and so please use your real name and accost.

At the bottom, you'll need to add your position to the "Brief Comments" department. In your own words, explain why it'south of import to you that the FCC protects Net Neutrality, and continues to keep ISPs in line.

Once you're finished, click the "Proceed to review screen" button. At present, read over what y'all've entered. If you find a mistake, return to the previous page. If everything's skillful to go, click the "Submit" button.

Back in June of 2014, John Oliver's Final Week This evening covered the net neutrality issue for a mainstream audition, and information technology became wildly popular. With nearly 13 million views on YouTube alone, his lengthy segment was something of a flash point for consumer defection. This week (embedded in a higher place), Oliver returns to the issue in hopes of fugitive an awful quagmire.

And since the commenting process is such a hassle, Oliver'southward team purchased the URL GoFCCYourself.com to make information technology easier for his audience to discover the proposal. Just click the "+ New Filing" link from that page, and you'll be taken to the same Express Annotate page we referenced before.

And it'south not just John Oliver who'southward willing to get into the weeds on this topic. Political podcast Lovett or Leave It from Kleptomaniacal Media sat downwardly with Tim Wu, Columbia Law School professor and originator of the phrase "internet neutrality," to discuss what the FCC is trying to attain in the Trump era. Unfortunately for consumers, it'southward almost all bad news. That'due south why information technology'due south and so vital that we speak out loudly right away.

An open commission coming together is currently scheduled for May 18th, and the "Restoring Internet Freedom" proposal is on the calendar. That'due south not the make-or-break borderline for protecting net neutrality, only we definitely want to accept as much public outcry as possible past the 18th.

[Paradigm credit: Flickr/Lars P., edited]