Last day to save the internet
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- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
I didn’t want you to miss this.
Bell is trying to control our internet by proposing policies allowing them to block content to increase profits. [1] And we only have until the end of today to blow the whistle on their greedy censorship ploy.
The telecom watchdog (the CRTC) is accepting public input on Bell’s website-blocking proposal until the end of today, which is when we’ll deliver our petition against Bell’s dangerous ploy. But we need to submit the biggest petition possible to topple Bell’s influence.
It only needs 4,000 more signatures to hit 25,000. With that many opponents, the CRTC would have no choice but to listen to us and reject Bell. Will you help reach our target and show the CRTC the undeniably large opposition to Bell’s greedy proposal?
We’re so close,
Rachel on behalf of the Leadnow team
Our internet is under attack. Major telecom companies like Bell want the telecommunications commission (CRTC) to create a review board with the power to control our online activities and block websites they don’t like. [1] Blocking websites amounts to one thing: censorship.
This is a ploy for massive telecom giants to monopolize the internet and make mega-profits.
If we act now, there’s a chance we can stop this. The CRTC is accepting public input on this proposal until Thursday. If we hand in a huge petition to the CRTC, it will show them that Canadians won’t stand for corporate interests taking over our internet. And they’ll have to deny Bell’s proposal.
Will you sign this petition now to protect our internet from greedy telecom companies like Bell?
ADD YOUR NAME Bell’s proposal to the telecommunications commission (CRTC) claims it’s protecting its content, but experts say piracy in Canada is at an all-time low because of our robust copyright protections. [2]
Handing over control of the internet to corporate interests is a slippery slope. Experts say it won’t take long for this to spiral into an Orwellian nightmare -- where information and communication are censored, and corporations like Bell monopolize the internet for profit. [3][4]
First we let Bell block the content it doesn’t like, then the government blocks content it doesn’t like, and then suddenly the only content left online is dictated by those in power or paid for by the highest bidders. And guess who can afford to bid the highest? Massive telecom giants like Bell.
Will you sign this petition now?
This could have dire implications for our media, our democracy and our ability to hold politicians to account. Giving corporations control of the internet threatens our access to information, which threatens our ability to organize. And once they’ve got control, we can’t easily get it back.
A proposal similar to this was made in the UK and now one in five UK sites have been blocked -- from small business websites to health services and personal blogs. [5]
We only have until March 1, will you add your name so we can submit the biggest petition possible before the deadline?
ADD YOUR NAME
Bell stands to make huge profits if this goes through. That’s why it’s tricking the CRTC under the guise of “protecting its content.” But as OpenMedia’s Katy Anderson notes, protecting content by blocking websites is like “going after a mosquito with a machine gun." [6]
Civil liberties associations and the minister of innovation and science all say the copyright laws already in place are robust enough to protect content creators’ intellectual property. [7] The CRTC knows this -- but Bell’s power to influence them is strong.
And we only have less than a week left to block Bell’s greedy plans.
Will you sign your name to stand up for the internet before it’s too late?
Sign the petition: https://act.leadnow.ca/block-bell
Thanks for all you do,
Rachel on behalf of the entire Leadnow team
Sources:
[1] Canadian Telcos Want To Play Police In War On Piracy: HuffPost
[2] Does Canada Even Have a Huge Piracy Problem?: Motherboard
[3] Here’s how the end of Net Neutrality will change the Internet: Wired
[4] Why the CRTC should reject FairPlay’s dangerous website-blocking plan: Globe and Mail
[5] The UK's Internet Filters Block Almost 1 in 5 Websites: Motherboard
[6, 7] Bell, Rogers Media among coalition urging CRTC for anti-piracy system: MobileSyrup
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