This matters a lot. The previous fights for net neutrality were won in part with the support of scrappy online companies like Tumblr, whose CEO, staff and users worked together to send a strong message to Congress and the FCC about the importance of a neutral internet, free from ISPs who slow down your connections to services unless they pay bribes for “premium” carriage.
With Trump’s FCC set to slay Net Neutality, the internet is once again planning a day of coordinated action: on July 12, sites across the net will send their users to the FCC and Congress to demand that ISPs be held to a public service standard befitting the trillions of dollars in public subsidies they receive every year in the form of access to rights of way through our cities and between them.
However, Tumblr is not among the companies presently slated to participate, and sources within the company told The Verge that the company and its CEO, David Karp (once a staunch Net Neutrality campaigner) have been given orders to sit this one out.
This btw – is why if you have fic on this site, you should probably work on copying it over to Ao3 now. Because the nature of Tumblr is likely to change with the new ownership… remember strikethru and prepare.
Heyyy everyone Have you been backing up the stuff you have only posted on tumblr? Because you should Gentle reminder Tumblr does not count as backup
((I don’t normally reblog these sorts of things as I tend to keep political things off of here. However, the concept of the FCC abolishing is terrifying on so many levels. It’ll hurt everyone from businesses to consumers alike the world over. But one of the things that directly impacts me here is that many of my friends are in the United States (I’m from Canada). Without net neutrality, it means that my friends may not be able to afford the ability to come online. It means losing people I care about. It means loneliness. Having a foreign ISP decide for me who my friends are based upon their ability to afford services does not sit well with me. I actually find it insulting. Which is one of the major reasons why I value net neutrality and wish to fight for it.
Just because David Karp is no longer in the fight doesn’t mean we should give up either. So I propose a plan here. We, the users, will participate on the day of action on July 12th. Change your icons, add banners to your blogs, create pop ups if you have the ability to do so, change your theme, do whatever you can online to show your support. Also, contact your representative or the FCC in a way you feel most comfortable and get vocal. But please, do not sit idle. Though as cliche as this sounds, I know for an absolute fact that this is true – one person CAN make a difference.
Thank you.))
//The idea of people being denied their (in many times only) friends and escapism and sources of knowledge because of corporate fuckery is honestly terrifying. The modern world is one where an internet connection is almost indispensable, if only to investigate and search for knowledge you don’t have, because education is subpar and the media and news a bought out joke.
Even if you’re not American (I am Spanish) this should scare you, not only for your friends that may no longer be able to afford to go online again, but because it sets an awful precedent. Others will follow America’s steps. Online gaming? Fandom? Hell, Wikipedia??
All down the drain once there’s not enough userbase for them to sustain themselves. No se puede poner puertas al campo.
well i guess this is it 