UPDATE! Comment period extended until Friday 7/18!
Today Friday is the last day the FCC will take public comments on proposed regulations regarding the concept of Net Neutrality (check out this video by Jon Oliver if you’re not familiar with the issue). Please please please, send them a message that Net Neutrality is something we care about and demand! Gizmodo wrote up a nice set of instructions which I’m going to copy and past here (original link here):
Step one: Visit FCC.gov/comments and find the proceeding with the title “Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet.” It should be the one on top and should also have over 20,000 filings in the last 30 days.
Step Two: Click the proceeding number “14-28.” You can also try to click this direct link, though it might not work every time. This will take you to the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System. It looks a little janky, but hey, the government built it.
Step Three: Fill out the form. Write about your feelings. Express your concerns. Air your grievances. Provide your real name and address. Hope for the best.
Step Four: Click “Continue” and make sure you like what you wrote. If you don’t you can modify your comment. If you do, click “Confirm.”
Comments are being accepted until midnight tonight (July 15th). Right now, the website is acting a bit flaky, but don’t give up. This is a really important issue that will shape our digital lives in the years to come. You’ve already paid once for internet access…without net neutrality, you will have to pay again (indirectly) to access the content you want. You’ll have to pay to access the internet, and internet companies will have to pay internet providers to allow you to access their content at the same speeds as you can other content on the ‘net. It’s a horrible path to go down.
There’s also a great guide to the comment system over at the Consumerist.