Action Alert to Protect Internet Neutrality

Hey Media Artists!!

Do we really want internet companies to be able to tell us what we can and cannot view and do on the Internet? This includes uploading, as well...

The Internet has, to date, been the most democratic and effective means of sharing critical and creative information. If anything, efforts should be made to expand access and availability! Independent and public content MUST remain as widely circulated as that spewed out by corporations with commercial interests.

Stand up for freedom of speech, expression, information, community, and content!!

The following is reposted from an email sent by Campaign for Democratic Media. An action request contained within...

STOP THE THROTTLERS!

The Campaign for Democratic Media is leading the call to stop the throttling of the Internet and the strangling of our choice.

Bell and Rogers are changing fundamentally how the Internet works by dictating how Web surfers access content.

As of April 7, Bell is going to put limits on downloads by Sympatico subscribers. Internet hosting companies that buy wholesale services from Bell have already been feeling the pinch since mid-March. Meanwhile, Rogers, in addition to its own traffic-shaping activities, has announced it will charge subscribers more for Internet activities that use more bandwidth.

The companies argue they are trying to limit activities that use up a lot of bandwidth in order to maintain speed for all users.

But there is a dangerous reality hidden beneath the companies' apparent concern for subscribers.

Using the same "traffic shaping" principle, the companies can steer subscribers to their own content, or content produced by affiliated companies, and away from that offered by competitors
-- including the public broadcaster. For example, some Internet users who recently tried to download CBC's The Next Greatest Prime Minister on Bittorrent were told it would take hours to do so.

For more than a decade, the Internet was a neutral resource for people around the world to share information with each other.

Do we really want Bell and Rogers to be able to tell us what we can and cannot view and do on the Internet?

You can take action on this alert via the web at:
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/internet_control/88eg8uk4q7nttw6d?

We encourage you to take action by April 15, 2008

Say NO to internet control by Bell, Rogers

Support Balanced Copyright Reform... important news and action alerts below

Media artists are likely to be the hardest hit of all...

From Online Rights Canada:

During the last Parliament, Bill C-60 provided some sensible approaches to copyright reform in Canada, but it also left room for improvement. Tell your MP that any new legislation should be an improvement on Bill C-60, not the retreat being urged by big copyright holders.

From Appropriation Art, A Coalition of Arts Professionals:

The Canadian minority Conservative Government made it clear in their Throne speech earlier this fall that Copyright Reform was a priority. Recent media reports indicate that a Copyright Reform bill will be tabled within the next couple of weeks and people close to the process have revealed that this bill will go beyond way beyond the US counterpart’s DMCA law. It appears that this new legislation will come with very stringent anti-circumvention provisions that prohibit the use of tools or techniques that open files with digital locks, even when the files in question belong to you.

Here are some suggestions for those involved in the Arts.

Members of CARFAC / RAAV: Demand that CARFAC / RAAV publicly support artists who use appropriation. They are mandated to support all artists. Demand that CARFAC / RAAV publicly denounce DMCA style legislation.

Media Artists: Media artists are likely to be the hardest hit of all. The new legislation will all but eliminate media arts which use appropriation. Media artists have both the skill and technology to produce films and audio work. Make a protest piece and get on youtube, myspace etc.

Educators: Get your students involved. Students are the future of Canadian Culture and have in many ways the most to lose from this legislation.

Links: Here are links to sites with action templates, information and further links. Most of these are repeats of the other posts on this page but here they are anyway.

Cory Doctorow - Prentice open house
Copyright for Canadians
Console Source - Action Page
CBC Search Engine - 250 questions for Jim Prentice
Michael Geist - 10 questions for Jim Prentice
Michael Geist - 30 Things You Can Do
Digital Copyright Canada - Send a Letter to Your MP

Here are two petitions to print and sign...

http://www.digital-copyright.ca/petition/petition_en.pdf
http://www.digital-copyright.ca/petition/ict/ict_owners_en.pdf