The Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) has teamed with animation producer Pixel Valley Studio on a new YouTube video to encourage Web surfers to sign a petition at its NoSlowLane.com Web site, calling on the FCC not to create Internet fast and slow lanes.
The video, "2084 Calling," is aimed at gamers, showing a "dystopian" future in which various videogame-like characters have been relegated to the slow lane. "We're stuck here, but in your time you can still do something to change this," one of the "virtual descendants" warns.
At press time there were 141,261 signatures on the online petition, according to the site, toward a goal of 150,000.
The petitions includes check-off boxes for various actions including writing public officials, filing comments at the FCC and getting action alerts from Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.). Franken has also made a YouTube video for NoSlowLane.com calling for strong network neutrality rules and warning against a "pay for play" Internet.
FCC chairman Tom Wheeler's proposed new open Internet rules have drawn a flood of criticism because it did not institute an outright ban on paid priority. Wheeler has said that paid priority that adversely impacts the consumer's Internet experience would not pass muster, and that establishing a case-by-case review of commercially reasonable discrimination was a way to create rules that would stand up in court.
