AIB's Save the Internet 2: You have just 24 hours to speak up about telecom companies ruining the web
We've been here before. The internet is in danger. Telecom companies and services like Facebook want to add VIP sections and fragment the web into a hundred little pieces, all of which can be charged for separately. A bunch of activists come together with AIB, one of India's most popular comedy outfits, to "Save the Internet." A million mails are sent and the government concedes that it will do whatever has to happen to keep the internet free. But it leaves open the definition of just what "free" means.
(For those who need a primer on the subject, here's everything you need to know about net neutrality, and also why those opposing it might have a point, but only if they truly trust telecom companies).
Now, there is just one day left to tell the government what you think "free" should mean, and it's a little harder. In a new video, a follow up to their first Save the Internet video that was seen by more than 3 million people, AIB calls on the users of the world wide web to once again step up and make it clear that the internet cannot turn into a walled garden for those who can afford it.
The government is taking comments on what its neutrality policy should be, as it attempts to formulate an approach following the paper put out by the Department of Telecom as well as the telecom regulator's consultation paper, both of which were heavily influenced by telecom companies' interests.
This time around there isn't a handy button on savetheinternet.in to click. Instead, you need to register into MyGov.in and leave a comment saying you don't want telecom companies to rule the internet. And, as AIB explains, you only have until August 15 to do so.
But when the freedom of the internet is at stake, what a couple of extra minutes spent registering and commenting?