Today Is 'Internet Slowdown' Day In Protest Of FCC's Proposed Net Neutrality Rules

If you have been following the battle between cable companies and major online companies, you won’t be surprised when you notice a “Loading…” icon or banner on some of your favorite websites today. Proponents of the existing net neutrality rules have been encouraging everyone from individuals to major companies to express their opposition to any changes in net neutrality rules that might give cable companies an opening charge heavy data users (like Netflix) more. 

You might be greeted by a banner like this one when you visit websites today.

The organization behind today’s “Internet Slowdown,” as it’s being called, is BattleForTheNet. It encourages people to contact the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to voice their concerns about giving cable companies more control over the way Internet data is priced. The list of companies that have agreed to show the “Loading…” icons and banners is long, and the number of people putting  “Loading…” icons in their social media profiles today will probably be even longer. The idea behind the icons and banners is to make people think about what using the Internet would be like if heavy data-use organizations and companies were throttled.

Not surprisingly, BattleForTheNet knows its way around social media and has tons of materials for people to add to profiles and posts today.

The impact of this effort remains to be seen, but there’s no question that sites are getting the word out today. Visit a few mainstream websites, and you’ll probably see at least one banner. Some of the banners actually cover the main page when you visit, blocking your access to the site until you close the banner or choose to sign the letter for meant for the lawmakers BattleForTheNet has targeted. That might be a risky move – while the banners are going to fire up plenty of Web surfers today, they’re going to get annoying fast.