Reposted from the Center for Rural Strategies website - Rural broadband advocates from five states and Washington D.C. gathered in rural Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday, October 11, 2011, for the first Rural Broadband Summit, cosponsored by the Center for Media Justice, the Center for Rural Strategies, and Free Press.
By Craig Kanalley / Reposted from Huffingtonpost.com NEW YORK -- A panel on social innovation and social change started with a joke. A panelist said they should go the full hour without saying the word "Twitter. But Twitter, along with Facebook, were unavoidable terms that came up repeatedly in the discussion Thursday at an Advertising Week event at 300 Madison Avenue in New York City.
By Chance Williams of Free Press Last Friday marked the launch of Black Voices for Internet Freedom, a new coalition of local, regional and national organizations, leaders and their allies joining together to keep the Internet open and free from discrimination. The coalition is following in the footsteps of Latinos for Internet Freedom, which launched last year.
By Tim Karr of Free Press / Reposted from Huffington Post As democracy movements worldwide struggle to speak out via the Internet, many here in the U.S. may have overlooked an effort in Congress to undermine this basic freedom.
Reposted from www.accesshumboldt.net Wednesday, September 28 – This week Access Humboldt petitioned the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for review of a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision. Access Humboldt says that the recently published decision, Preserving the Open Internet (Report and Order), 25 FCCRcd 17905 (2010), wrongly discriminates between Internet access via mobile devices like smart phones and Internet access via fixed platforms like cable and telephone, and that the rules are legally unsound.
On Friday, September 23rd, hundreds of people participated in the launch of Black Voices for Internet Freedom, attending in person or watching on-line. The digital townhall launch took place at the offices of New America Foundation in Washington, D.C. Check out the entire video and photos from this precedent setting event and panel discussion that explored the potential impacts of these developments. The event marked the official launch of Black Voices for Internet Freedom and celebrate the success of Latinos for Internet Freedom.
“I’m constantly reminded of the Cesar Chavez quote, ‘The fight is never about grapes or lettuce. It is always about people.’ This idea is at the core of Internet Freedom. This fight isn’t about wires and pipes or bits and bytes, it’s about people and their ability to communicate freely and uplift their communities.” —amalia deloney, Center for Media Justice, 2011 Knowledge Exchange
By Brandi Collins, Center for Media Justice “Our goal as we gather here this week and beyond is to start the process of developing a new national and multi-regional generation of social justice advocates connected to this shared vision of Internet freedom – we are building a coalition of digital literate civil rights leaders.” amalia deloney, Center for Media Justice – 2011 Knowledge Exchange
By Brandi Collins, Center for Media Justice “The media reform movement is born out of civil rights struggles – from abolitionist newspapers that told the stories of the disenfranchised, to challenges to broadcast licenses. There is a long history of using media to impact the way the world sees our communities and to leverage opportunities for social sustainable change.“ Chancellar Williams, FreePress – Internet Freedom Strategy Meeting
Black and Latino communities are coming together to keep the Internet open and free from discrimination. Because communities of color rely on the Internet and are increasingly embracing wireless technology, we are organizing to protect our online communication rights. These rights are currently at risk: FCC Net Neutrality rules provide few protections for wireless users — and a pending congressional resolution would overturn these rules and hand control of the Internet to corporations. What’s more, the Department of Justice has acknowledged that AT&T’s proposed merger with T-Mobile is a serious threat to wireless competition and would raise prices for consumers.