Protesters urge support of free speech on internet – New Jersey Herald

Posted: Jul. 13, 2017 12:01 am

NEWTON -- A handful of protesters stood on the Newton Green Wednesday afternoon to urge support of free speech on the internet as part of the Day of Action for Net Neutrality.

Similar movements were happening Wednesday at numerous locations throughout the U.S. and in several other nations, according to protester Wendi Goetz of Frelinghuysen. Goetz said the Newton group is speaking on behalf of protectourinternet.org.

Goetz -- one of a group of three or four persons at the event -- used a microphone to amplify her message, speaking up when drivers were stopped at the Spring Street intersection. Signs staked into the grass read, "Protect Our Internet" and "Democracy Not Corporatocracy."

Another protester, Aaron Hyndman of White Township who is a Democratic candidate for 24th District Assembly, described net neutrality as "the principle that the internet should be a place of free and open exchange of ideas without the corporations that own the tech infrastructure regulating or charging people extra for certain types of what should be free speech to go through." Goetz, more simply, called it "the First Amendment of the internet."

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that AT&T supported the day of action, but there are still concerns about the future of net neutrality due to the influence of other large tech companies. As an example, the protesters on the green referenced Ajit Pai, the former CEO of Verizon who is now the Federal Communications Commission's chairman.

"He's chairman of the FCC, and by weighing in (on net neutrality) like he is, he's just setting it up for big corporations," said protester Elizabeth Nelson of Newton.

Goetz said this type of behavior could be detrimental to internet users in the long run.

"These chairmen are all coming from the revolving door of industry lobbyists and into our regulatory positions," she said. "They're common carriers who have used up all their subsidies and taxpayer money to get their infrastructure built on our backs, and now they want us to pay more."

If net neutrality is repealed, Goetz said, another consequence would be slower internet speed. As someone who relied on the web to help bolster support for the United States' withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership which happened shortly after President Donald Trump's inauguration Goetz is concerned about this drawback.

"I utilized the internet so people could know what I was talking about, could come join me, and we helped to flush the TPP," she said. "Fights like that, and fights for our freedom, will not be available to us if the internet is slow. Can you imagine being back in the 1990s with it reloading over and over again? No way."

Hyndman said the location of the protest was fitting given the Newton Green's history, calling it "a birthplace of democracy, of free speech and the First Amendment." He believes a repeal of net neutrality would jeopardize these three values for the sake of large corporations.

"People don't realize, because we take the internet for granted, how fundamental it is in facilitating free speech and getting us connected to all the information we need," Hyndman said. "If it becomes tiered and regulated in such a way that it puts profit over principled exchange of ideas, it's dangerous for democracy."

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Protesters urge support of free speech on internet - New Jersey Herald