Major Websites to Support Net Neutrality by Showing What Really Slow Internet Looks Like

To protest Big Telecom’s attempts to divide the internet into “fast” and “slow” lanes, many of your favorite websites will try a new tactic: on September 10th, they’ll show you how long it would take to actually see your internet.

Prominent websites like Etsy, FourSquare, KickStarter, Mozilla, Reddit and Vimeo will install a widget in their pages that show the possible outcomes of eliminating net neutrality, a.k.a the idea that the internet should be accessible to everyone, without internet providers censoring content or charging people more money to access certain sites. Without net neutrality in place — a legitimate fear, considering the recent legal challenges brought by cable and telecom companies against the FCC — it may take forever to access your favorite websites, especially if they’re full of streaming content.

“I think the three most hated words on the internet right now are ‘Please wait, loading…'” Evan Greer, one of the organizers behind the project, told The Guardian. “Unless internet users unite in defense of net neutrality, we could be seeing those dreaded ‘loading’ wheels a lot more often on some of our favorite websites, while monopolistic companies get to decide which content gets seen by the most people.”

Thankfully, they’re not actually slowing down their sites — though if they did, the internet would have a collective freakout, and maybe that would spur further action on net neutrality? Just a thought.

[The Guardian]
[Image via Shutterstock]

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