The internet bristled on Wednesday with protests against the move by service providers in the US to puncture the principle of net neutrality. Hundreds of internet giants, social media networks, even porn sites joined a protest against plans to roll back rules that currently protect net neutrality.
The protest principally is aimed at a move by the US communications regulator Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to remove an Obama-era rule that bars prioritisation of traffic. If this becomes law, internet service providers can extract a premium from content providers.
Presently, FCC is seeking public views on the matter. In protest, major companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon called for protests, billed Day of Action, on July 12. The companies protesting the FCC move include Firefox, Google, Facebook, Amazon, Reddit, AirBnB, Twitter, Snapchat, OkCupid and PornHub.
Campaigners leading the global protest told the BBC that around 80,000 websites and services took part in the Day of Action to draw attention to the FCC public consultation ahead of the move to reverse rules that protect net neutrality.
The outcome of the FCC consultation has wide-ranging consequences for the future of the internet. If the US Congress votes against net neutrality and allows service providers to charge content providers a premium for data speed, similar legislations could be taken up in other countries, such as India, where net neutrality holds for now.
Sean Vitka, a lawyer for pro-net neutrality groups Demand Progress and Fight for the Future, says, “This protest is to stop internet service providers from controlling who wins or loses on the internet. If they have their way, there'd be nothing to stop your ISP stopping the next Facebook, the next Google, from accessing customers equally.