Today is Internet Slowdown Day. What is that? It’s where people and companies, large and small, around the globe try to fight against crippling laws that will render the relatively level playing field of the Internet completely at the mercy of a handful of companies, namely the ISPs (Internet Service Providers).

You’ve probably noticed this on Etsy, Netflix, and other big-name sites. They’re rallying together to fight against these proposes new laws because these laws represent an unfair advantage to large companies that can monopolize Internet traffic by leveraging tremendous monetary resources smaller companies and individuals cannot.

Imagine for a moment if Cracked.com paid a million dollars so their website loaded in a quarter of the time Icanhazcheeseburger loaded. Or what if Walmart was ALWAYS the first result found on any and all search engine results for any product. Imagine being able to stream all your favorite shows for one television network at their website, but having to suffer through constant delays and time-outs at another network’s website.

Imagine starting an internet business, only to discover your potential customers can only access your site at 1996-era speeds unless you pony up five, six, seven digits of cash.

If you want to help in this fight, there are two ways:
Contact the FCC directly, telling them your thoughts.
Contact your elected officials and let them know your thoughts.

It is not an exaggeration to say the very future of the Internet hangs in the balance.