[Infowarrior] - Comcast blocks public from FCC hearing??

[Richard Forno]

Comcast Blocking: First the Internet ‹ Now the Public

http://www.savetheinternet.com/blog/2008/02/25/comcast-blocking-first-the-in
ternet-now-the-public/

There was huge turnout at today¹s public hearing in Boston on the future of
the Internet. Hundreds of concerned citizens arrived to speak out on the
importance of an open Internet. Many took the day off from work ‹ standing
outside in the Boston cold ‹ to see the FCC Commissioners. But when they
reach the door, they¹re told they couldn¹t come in.

The size of the crowd is evidence that many Americans don¹t want giant
corporations like Comcast and Verzion to decide what we can do and where we
can go on the Internet.

But will the FCC hear these voices? For many people who showed up on time
for the hearing, apparently not.

Comcast ‹ or someone who really, really likes Comcast ‹ evidently bused in
its own crowd. These seat-warmers, were paid to fill the room, a move that
kept others from taking part.

They arrived en masse some 90 minutes before the hearing began and occupied
almost every available seat, upon which many promptly fell asleep (picture
above).

One told us that he was ³just getting paid to hold someone¹s seat.²

He added that he had no idea what the meeting was about.

If he was holding someone else¹s seat, he never gave it up.

Many of this early crowd had mysteriously matching yellow highlighters stuck
in their lapels.

We also photographed them outside the venue being handed papers by an
organizer who had been seen earlier talking with several of the Comcast
people at the hearing.

Here¹s why this is a problem. Comcast clearly paid disinterested people to
fill seats. This barred interested citizens from entering.

More than 100 people who arrived at the appointed time for the hearing were
turned away by campus police because the room was already full.
ComcastBarred: The interested public

The Cambridge hearing is part of the FCC¹s ongoing investigation into
Comcast¹s blocking of Internet traffic. But there¹s much more at stake. We
are at a critical juncture, where it will be decided whether we have a
closed Internet controlled by a small handful of giant corporations, or an
open Internet controlled by the people who use it.

Comcast wants the former ‹ to dictate which Web sites and services go fast,
slow or don¹t load at all. And they¹re backed by the other would-be
gatekeepers at AT&T, Verizon and Time Warner.

Tell the FCC to stop Comcast from blocking Internet traffic and to
permanently protect Net Neutrality:
http://www.savetheinternet.com/comcast.php

The official deadline for comments in Feb. 28.