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Citizens of the web… prepare yourself for the great “Internet Slowdown.” Only five days before the end of the FCC’s public commentary period on net neutrality, a group called Fight for the Future has organized an online campaign on September 10th to help users visualize the bleak future of a fee-based, two-tiered web.

Reddit, WordPress, Vimeo and Kickstarter are among the companies participating in the online protest by displaying the dreaded spinning content loading icon on their sites all day tomorrow. While the websites will not actually be running slower, the spinning icons will provide a symbolic illustration of how most users would likely have to wait for content to load if internet service providers like AT&T and Time Warner Cable charged higher fees for access to faster speeds.

The campaign takes its inspiration from the successful fight against SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act in 2012 when Google, Wikipedia and 7,000 other websites participated in an internet blackout and successfully defeated the bill.

The current battle to maintain net neutrality came after a leaked proposal from FCC chairman Tom Wheeler’s office in April which indicated that he would back priority service for higher paying content providers. Wheeler then backtracked and released a statement saying that he did not want an internet of ‘haves and have-nots’. Once the public comment period ends on the 15th, the FCC will consider all suggestions and put the proposed rules to a vote. A final decision is expected by the end of the year.

GUEST: Tim Karr, Senior Director of Strategy at Free Press

Visit www.battleforthenet.com for more information.