Will our voices be silenced on the Internet?

[Commentary] The open Internet has provided people of color and other marginalized groups an unprecedented opportunity to tell their own stories and to organize for racial and social justice. Several advocacy groups have used the open Internet to organize online campaigns to protest against racism, hate speech and unfair treatment of immigrants. But this may all come to an end.

On Jan 14, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that Internet service providers (ISPs) such as Verizon and AT&T can censor, block and interfere with Web traffic and content online. With Verizon’s triumph, there’s nothing stopping ISPs from becoming our Internet overlords. “Black folks' ability to be heard is now in real danger,” said Rashad Robinson, the executive director of Color of Change, in a statement. “Our communities rely on the Internet to speak without a corporate filter, to access information and connect to the world.” Jessica Gonzalez, executive vice president of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, added that the ruling curtails the ability of members of her community to fight “discrimination, tell (their) own stories fairly and accurately, organize and even earn a living.” Others say the ruling limits access to educational opportunities. For too many US households, the library is the only place to get high-speed Internet access, to look for jobs and to access other information that is relevant to their lives. By threatening the access of communities of color to the information they need to participate fully in our society, the court’s decision reinforces the nation’s media inequality. People of color own only 3 percent of the nation’s commercial TV stations and 8 percent of commercial radio outlets. According to the FCC’s ownership records, the figure for TV does not even include black owners, since there are none. These communities’ lack of wealth due to our country’s history of discrimination is a primary reason few broadcast stations are owned by people of color. To the extent that they are unable to speak for themselves, people of color are often subjected to stereotypical portrayal in the mainstream media. The court’s latest decision will further restrict the ability of people of color to tell their own stories and challenge prejudiced narratives.

[Joseph Torres is senior external affairs director for the media reform group Free Press]