Net Neutrality and the eBay Community: A Call to Action

EDITOR'S NOTE: We and I'm sure all of eBay's 75 million users just received this "personal letter" directly from eBay's CEO Meg Whitman on the issue of "Net Neutrality." This is an important issue that we should all be aware of, as one way or the other it can potentially affect all of us. In essence, it's a bill currently in the House that seeks to prevent broadband providers from offering an exclusive high-speed lane for video and other services. The links to write your congressman or woman are www.house.gov  and www.senate.gov...We digress...let's let Meg explain...[-R]

P.S. If anyone has e-mailed eBay and they've replied, forward us their responses as we would love to post them. Inquiring minds want to know...

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Dear Republica,

As you know, I almost never reach out to you personally with a request to get involved in a debate in the U.S. Congress. However, today I feel I must.

Right now, the telephone and cable companies in control of Internet access are trying to use their enormous political muscle to dramatically change the Internet. It might be hard to believe, but lawmakers in Washington are seriously debating whether consumers should be free to use the Internet as they want in the future.

The phone and cable companies now control more than 95% of all Internet access. These large corporations are spending millions of dollars to promote legislation that would divide the Internet into a two-tiered system.

The top tier would be a "Pay-to-Play" high-speed toll-road restricted to only the largest companies that can afford to pay high fees for preferential access to the Net.

The bottom tier -- the slow lane -- would be what is left for everyone else. If the fast lane is the information "super-highway," the slow lane will operate more like a dirt road.

Today's Internet is an incredible open marketplace for goods, services, information and ideas. We can't give that up. A two lane system will restrict innovation because start-ups and small companies -- the companies that can't afford the high fees -- will be unable to succeed, and we'll lose out on the jobs, creativity and inspiration that come with them.

The power belongs with Internet users, not the big phone and cable companies. Let's use that power to send as many messages as possible to our elected officials in Washington. Please join me by clicking here right now to send a message to your representatives in Congress before it is too late. You can make the difference.

Thank you for reading this note. I hope you'll make your voice heard today.

Sincerely,

Meg Whitman
President and CEO
eBay Inc.

P.S. If you have any questions about this issue, please contact us at government_relations@ebay.com.

Tags:eBay | Meg Whitman | Net Neutrality

Comments

[Marcos Salazar]

I have posted a link to your site on all of my blogs. I have also emailed everyone I can think of about this. This is an extremely important issue and I am glad you posted this. Thank you!

Marcos Salazar
www.TurbulentTwenties.com
www.DistrictTees.com

[online auction]

Why is she suddenly contacting all the people that she does not even care about? So, she needs help? Why would people want to listed to her, when she does not listen to her own eBay users? I don't get it.

[Richard Hill]

Three phrases should be among the most common in our daily usage. They are: Thank you, I am grateful and I appreciate.