Several of the Internet’s most prominent websites including Netflix, Reddit and Mozilla want to demonstrate what browsing would be like if new federal regulations allowed Internet service providers to enable certain websites to load faster or slower than others.
On Wednesday, these organizations will display “spinning-wheel” loading icons symbolizing the waits that users would experience if the Federal Communications Commission adopts weak regulations that jeopardize the freedom, accessibility and openness of the Internet, which is commonly known as Net Neutrality.
The absence of effective Internet regulation could lead to what protesters have dubbed Internet “slow lanes” where certain forms of web traffic could be throttled to a slower speed than others at the discretion of ISPs.
There are already examples of slow lanes being utilized. As early as 2008, Comcast was caught throttling its users’ file sharing uploads. Earlier this year, T-Mobile implemented a new “Free Music” policy that allows users to stream music from select services without it counting toward their data caps.
The protest campaign, “Battle for the Net,” is being promoted by Fight for the Future and Demand Progress.
Wednesday’s “Internet Slowdown” is a small part of the debate on the future of the Internet, but is intended to a send a message to the FCC in favor of neutrality in the days leading up to the Sept. 15 end of its comment period.
