Ever Get the Feeling You've Been Cheated (Out of an Open Internet)?

[Commentary] If you think today’s ruling isn’t a big deal for artists, think again.

Maybe you’re one of those musicians that thinks Spotify is a bum deal for artists. Perhaps you like the flexibility afforded to you by Bandcamp. What happens when an Internet service provider decides that Spotify can pay more and blocks or otherwise interferes with your music getting to fans on your preferred platform? What if an ISP charges overages for data on your favorite apps, but exempts traffic from their corporate buddies? Musicians have been down this road before. We saw what happened when Clear Channel and their ilk were allowed to gobble up all the mom and pop radio stations around the country. To paraphrase Johnny Rotten, without clear rules of the road prohibiting discrimination of lawful content by ISPs, you’re being cheated. The FCC created this problem when it chose previously to reclassify broadband Internet as an “information service” rather than a “telecommunications service.” This move, upheld in a Supreme Court decision from 2005, put the Commission’s regulatory authority under question. And today’s decision affirms as much. But there is a bright side.

As FMC Interim Executive Director Casey Rae said in a statement: “Under the direction of newly-appointed chairman Tom Wheeler, the FCC now has the opportunity to fix a problem of its own making. It has never been more important to have basic rules of the road preventing ISPs from blocking content delivered over the Internet, regardless of how users connect. Thousands of musicians and independent labels are already on record in support of a level online playing field as part of FMC’s Rock the Net campaign. This decision will surely inspire countless other creators and entrepreneurs to make the case for an open and accessible Internet. Of course, Congress could always step up to the plate and write laws ensuring that the Internet remains a place where a great idea, a great song or an amazing innovation has a chance to get off the ground. Until then, the FCC has the obligation to act to protect all Americans—including creators—from the whims of just a few big corporations.”

We’re currently coming up with new ways for you to get involved. For now, our friends at Free Press have a portal for you to tell the FCC that they need to act, because the Internet belongs to EVERYONE.