<nettime> Fw: [Politech] eBay raises the stakes on Net neutrality with e-mailcampaign [econ]

["Florence Pelissier" <florence.pelissier@wanadoo.fr>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Declan McCullagh" <declan@well.com>
To: "Politech" <politech@politechbot.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 01, 2006 7:45 PM
Subject: [Politech] eBay raises the stakes on Net neutrality with 
e-mailcampaign [econ]


>
> Forwarded message:
>
> As you know, I almost never reach out to you personally with a
> request to get involved in a debate in the U.S. Congress. However,
> today I feel I must.
>
> Right now, the telephone and cable companies in control of Internet
> access are trying to use their enormous political muscle to
> dramatically change the Internet. It might be hard to believe, but
> lawmakers in Washington are seriously debating whether consumers
> should be free to use the Internet as they want in the future.
>
> The phone and cable companies now control more than 95% of all
> Internet access. These large corporations are spending millions of
> dollars to promote legislation that would divide the Internet into a
> two-tiered system.
>
> The top tier would be a "Pay-to-Play" high-speed toll-road
> restricted to only the largest companies that can afford to pay high
> fees for preferential access to the Net.
>
> The bottom tier -- the slow lane -- would be what is left for
> everyone else. If the fast lane is the information "super-highway,"
> the slow lane will operate more like a dirt road.
>
> Today's Internet is an incredible open marketplace for goods,
> services, information and ideas. We can't give that up. A two
> lane system will restrict innovation because start-ups and small
> companies -- the companies that can't afford the high fees -- will
> be unable to succeed, and we'll lose out on the jobs, creativity and
> inspiration that come with them.
>
> The power belongs with Internet users, not the big phone and cable
> companies. Let's use that power to send as many messages as possible
> to our elected officials in Washington. Please join me by clicking
> here right now to send a message to your representatives in Congress
> before it is too late. You can make the difference.
>
> Thank you for reading this note. I hope you'll make your voice heard
> today.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Meg Whitman President and CEO eBay Inc.
>
> P.S. If you have any questions about this issue, please contact us
> at government_relations@ebay.com.
>
>
>
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