4th of July with its fireworks, hotdogs and hamburgers, and celebrating the birth of a free nation, gets everybody feeling pretty patriotic. That pride in our independence is making a strong push this year to defend the Free Internet. With SOPA, PIPA, ACTA, and other proposed laws under our belts, we must remain vigilant against others that wish to overstep and legislate the Internet to be a less free, less democratic network than it has been so far.
That freedom encourages innovation and has created new industries. All people around the globe must embrace and defend that freedom so that the Internet can continue to be the place that entertains, educates, motivates, innovates, assists, communicates, and so much more for us every day.
In a blog post, Google called people to action to support a free and open Internet. You can head over to www.google.com/takeaction to sign up and add your voice to the discussion. Along with adding your comment on the power of the Internet, Google allows you to opt in to a newsletter for Internet-related legislation and initiatives.
Another group has formed the Declaration of Internet Freedom.
The preamble of the declaration reads as:
We believe that a free and open Internet can bring about a better world. To keep the Internet free and open, we call on communities, industries and countries to recognize these principles. We believe that they will help to bring about more creativity, more innovation and more open societies.
We are joining an international movement to defend our freedoms because we believe that they are worth fighting for.
Let’s discuss these principles — agree or disagree with them, debate them, translate them, make them your own and broaden the discussion with your community — as only the Internet can make possible.
You can sign the declaration and continue the conversation at partner sites linked to from www.internetdeclaration.org/freedom.