Now that the official deadline for public comments to the FCC on the Open Internet has passed, what are we the people supposed to do until they make their ruling on how to regulate the internet? The FCC staffers are all hard at work combing through the over one million comments that were sent in seeking out the ones that were not just ‘Fuck You FCC!!’ messages. I’ve been covering this story since the Appellate Court made its decision earlier this year and I figured I’d put together a few suggestions on what we can all do between now and when the
- Add your relevant commentary to www.fcc.gov/comments Open Internet.That’s right folks; you can still make your voice heard.
In a tweet from July 19th, Gigi Sohn, the special counsel for external affairs, office of the chairman, FCC, stated “#netneutrality comment/reply period is 2 get timely, organized input 4 analysis; reality is comments accepted until week b4 @FCC decision[.]” That means that there’s still time for you to express your thoughts on the effect changes in net neutrality policy will have on you as a consumer and as a professional. - Read up on what people have already posted.
Did you know that you can actually read all those posts that have been put on the FCC comments page? Well it’s true. By simply going to the www.fcc.gov/comments page and clicking on the number of posts recently posted you will be taken to a page that shows all the comments that have been made and published to date. - Keep up to date on the issue.
While net neutrality may not be a top story in the news, there are still developments in the story. Since the public commentary period ended we’ve had such stories as Senate Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) stating he would back the FCC if new regulations required all data to be treated equally. Comcast has not only stated that it would support net neutrality regulations, but also is pushing the FCC to include wireless networks like Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint. Time Warner Cable has even tried to convince the world that it’s the content providers like Netflix are the real threat to net neutrality. And more organizations, like Major League Baseball, are stepping up to the plate to discuss the impact these regulations could have. The news keeps funneling in and staying up to date is important. - Get involved with a public advocacy group.
With possibly hundreds of thousands of people leaving only a comment saying that they stand for net neutrality, we face the obstacle of getting the FCC to pay attention to the voiced concerns of the masses due to a lack of substance beyond that sentiment. The groups that were behind getting people involved in the first place are now reaching out again to take further action. There is now a push to get the FCC commissioners to host regional meetings where the discussion can go from individuals shouting into the vacuum of a comment page to a potential discussion. - Find your next cause.
If you’re familiar with the film PCU you will remember the group referred to as “the cause-heads.” These are the people that get outraged over issues, protest to raise awareness and stick with it “for about a week.” There are many people that have expressed their outrage over the issue of net neutrality and have since moved on because they believe they have done their part. If they voiced their concern to the FCC and took some kind of action, then it’s truly possible that they have done all they can do and they begin to focus their attention elsewhere. - Turn off your computer, go outside, and get offline.
The fact is, if you have voiced your concern to the FCC and have kept the issue somewhere in your discussions with others in order to ensure it doesn’t fall through the cracks, then you have done more than many and you should enjoy a nice break. You’re probably one of the people that has spent days reading all the material you can find, hours writing or talking about it with anyone willing to listen, and it’s time for you to revisit sunlight because it’s time.
