| UPDATE: an important win on a campaign that many of us have contributed to. Take some time to celebrate with OpenMedia. Job well done!
– – – – – – – – – OpenMedia writes: Big Telecom and their lobbyists are absolutely livid about our Net Neutrality victory. Yesterday we wrote to you (Appended) with exciting news that our movement had won rules to prevent telecom giants from manipulating data caps to make some apps and services more expensive than others. Since then our victory has been making headlines all over the world. But today, telco shills and industry apologists have flocked to Twitter to express their outrage. They hate these rules. And if their outrage is any indication, they’ll do everything they can to undo our huge win. April 20th: This is absolutely wonderful, Sandra. We just won again! The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) just decided in favour of historic Net Neutrality rules that prevent Big Telecom from unfairly manipulating data caps to discriminate against certain apps and services.1 Over the past year, 55,000 of you spoke up to show the CRTC how data caps are used to distort demand, hurt customers, and tilt the playing field in Big Telecoms’ favour2,3 – and today your voices had quite the impact. Telecom giants were fighting for new powers to make certain apps more expensive than others through a controversial practice called “zero-rating.”4,5,6 Luckily, today’s CRTC’s decision means all Canadians can be proud to have rules that will ensure our Internet can continue to promote free expression, innovation, and economic growth. But our victory is not safe yet. Why? One chilling phrase: Big Telecom’s lawyers. This is exactly the type of ruling that we can expect Big Telecom to challenge in the courts or on Parliament Hill. And that’s why we need donations from people like you right now. Can you donate to make sure OpenMedia is ready to hold onto this huge victory? Giants like Bell have already challenged net neutrality and zero-rating in the courts.7 And – don’t forget – the federal government just opened Pandora’s Box on the open web with this year’s budget, which Big Telecom could exploit to undo today’s big win.8 Our movement has never had so many victories in such a short period. Which also means we’ve never had a bigger bullseye on us or our wins. Thanks for everything you do, Josh, on behalf of OpenMedia P.S. Today’s decision from the CRTC will fundamentally determine the future of internet pricing and innovation in Canada. And, because of people like you, we will have a level playing field going forward. Thanks for all of you’ve done so far. And if you can, please donate to sustain our movement today. Footnotes [1] Your internet provider can’t pick which apps and services count against your data cap, says CRTC. Source: CBC News. [2] OpenMedia’s presentation at the CRTC hearings on differential pricing (a.k.a. zero-rating). Source: OpenMedia. [3] See our End Data Caps campaign. Source: OpenMedia. [4] What the heck is zero-rating and how does it undermine Net Neutrality? Source: OpenMedia. [5] Guest Blog – Zero Rating: A wolf in sheep’s clothing. Source: OpenMedia. [6] Why zero rating of internet usage must be banned. Source: Alphabeatic. [7] Federal court dismisses Bell appeal in mobile television ruling. Source: The Globe and Mail. [8] Budget 2017: Why Canada’s Digital Policy Future Is Up For Grabs. Source: Michael Geist. |
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Apr 222017