Al Franken, the former comedian and now U.S senator, wrote a piece for the Huffington Post about the issue of Net Neutrality, calling it “…the most important free speech issue of our time..” Reading through the article, I started to realize just how correct Mr. Franken is. He is clearly not part of the “Good Old Boys” club in Washington, which gives me much more respect for his opinions. Franken is one of the few minds in the senate that is actually speaking out against the draft Order, which is set to be revealed tomorrow. The senator from Minnesota claims that the draft Order would effectively allow large corporations and media conglomerates to control many aspects of the internet. One of the most clear examples Franken cites is Comcast’s recent decision to impose monthly fees on the company that provides netflix with content delivery services for their hugely popular  instant queue service. If these new regulations go into effect, Franken worries—quite strongly—that the internet as we know it may change. Comcast—and other monolith corporations—may start to force customers to use their On Demand service; it would be legal for them to block netflix. All of this is extremely troubling. If you are not concerned, you surely ought to be. The basic freedoms that the internet has granted us, more than any other method of publication, as well as the way it has revolutionized content consumption, may be at risk. The internet is the last bastion of true and genuine free speech. We cannot rely on the presses for that basic rights granted to us by our U.S. Constitution. The internet is the world’s finest example of giving everyone a voice—that’s the beauty of it. It is as grassroots as can be, and we must protect this wonderful tool that allows logical thought to promulgate. Please, join the fight to keep the internet neutral. 

Link to Al Franken’s article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/al-franken/the-most-important-free-s_b_798984.html