Categorized | Business

Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, asks AdSense Publishers to support net neutrality!

Posted on 11 June 2006 by Lord Brar

I dunno if you read this open letter from Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google asking the support to AdSense Publishers to contact their congress representative against the new bill which will allow phone companies to charge for faster access to certain sites!

Here’s the whole letter —

Dear AdSense Publisher,

There’s a debate heating up in Washington, DC on something called “net neutrality” – and the outcome of this debate may very well impact your business. Therefore, we are taking the unprecedented steps of calling your attention to this looming crisis and asking you to get involved.

Sometime in the next few days, the House of Representatives is going to vote on a bill that would fundamentally alter the Internet. That bill would give the big phone and cable companies the power to choose what you will be able to see and do on the Internet.

Today the Internet is an information highway where anybody – no matter how large or small, how traditional or unconventional – has equal access to everyone else. On the Internet, a business doesn’t need the network’s permission to communicate with a customer or deploy an innovative new service. But the phone and cable monopolies, who control almost all broadband Internet access, want the power to choose who gets onto the high-speed lanes and whose content gets seen first and fastest. They want to build tollbooths to block the on-ramps for those whom they don’t want to compete with and who can’t pay this new Internet tax. Money and monopoly, not ideas and independence, will be the currency of their Internet.

Under the proposed “pay-to-play” system, small- and medium-sized businesses will be placed at an automatic disadvantage to their larger competitors. Those who cannot afford the new Internet tax – or who want to compete directly with the phone and cable companies – will be marginalized by slower Internet access that will inevitably make their sites less accessible, and therefore less appealing.

Creativity, innovation and a free and open marketplace are all at stake in this fight. Imagine an Internet in which your access to customers is constrained by your ability to cut a deal with the carriers. Please call your representative in Congress at 202-224-3121. For more information on the issue, and more ways to make your voice be heard, visit www.ItsOurNet.org.

Thank you for your time, your concern and your support.

Eric Schmidt
CEO of Google Inc.

P.S. — If you are unsure of who represents you in Congress, you can look them up by zip code at http://www.house.gov. And if you would like to stay informed about this issue, and other policy issues affecting Google, you can opt-in to our policy mailing list at http://groups-beta.google.com/group/googlepolicy/subscribe (powered by Google Groups).

If you are in a position to help, i.e. are a US citizen, then do so by any means! It is very important that his stupid bill be rejected!

4 Comments For This Post

  1. risingsunofnihon Says:

    Usually I don’t get behind these corporate crusades, but I feel that this issue is extremely important — especially since so many of us derive our livelihood from the Internet. You can bet I’ll be writing to my representatives soon!

  2. Lord Brar Says:

    Indeed, this would directly hurt our livelihood! Even though I am not in a position to directly affect this bill (as I am no a US citizen) however I am trying to do all I can to raise the awareness about this issue.

  3. Lord Brar Says:

    Reaction to - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5063072.stm

    Reaction to tonight’s House vote on H.R. 5252 from Amazon.com, eBay, Google, IAC/InterActiveCorp, Microsoft and Yahoo!, founders of the “It’s Our Net� Coalition:

    While today’s vote was a disappointment, we’re not surprised, nor are we discouraged. Internet users and businesses across America are increasingly concerned about the prospect of Internet discrimination by network operators. We are confident that as more Americans learn what is at stake, Congress will act to protect Net Neutrality in a meaningful way.

    Despite today’s vote, some House members have worked tirelessly to preserve the rules of the road for the Internet and we would like to particularly thank Representatives Rick Boucher (D-VA), Chris Cannon (R-UT), John Conyers (D-MI), John Dingell (D-MI), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Jay Inslee (D-WA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Heather Wilson (R-NM), and Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI).

    Net Neutrality now moves to the Senate, where Senators Snowe (R-ME) and Dorgan (D-ND) have already introduced a bi-partisan, pro Net Neutrality bill that we strongly support. We look forward to working further with Chairman Stevens (R-AK) and Co-Chairman Inouye (D-HI) on this very important issue and continuing the open and thoughtful discussions we have had with Senators and staff. We are confident that the Senate will ensure that the open Internet is protected, Internet users and businesses are free to compete and innovate, and America’s global leadership in Internet services and technology is preserved.

  4. Ben Says:

    Wow! This is crazy! I swear, soon they’re going to itroduce a traffic light tax. Everytimg you want to cross the road, you put in a coin.

Leave a Reply

This is a viral video from Youtube that is getting a lot of attention.

I will let the author set the scene:

It was back in Oct 2005.

My wedding was about a month to go and I decided to make a memorable event for my future wife. But, I and she were working and due to preparation of wedding, I didn’t have enough budgets for expensive proposal. While I was considering for the event, I remembered what she said in the past. “Wow it would be great if I can get a chance to go in the room with full of yellow post it just like Sang Sang Plus” (Sang Sang Plus is one of the famous talk show (TV program) in Korea and they prepare a room with full of yellow post it - questions from fans to famous celebrity)

I wrote all the happy memories that I had with my wife in 5,940 post it. It took me 4 days & 5 nights to write everything and post it in the bathroom. (I tried main living room first, but, due to surface of wallpaper, I had to change the place) Once we back from honeymoon, we took all the post it off and kept it in the box until now.

Recent Videos