Cafe Society will be meeting at the Chicago Cultural Center’s First Floor Garland Room on Wednesday, November 16
Mitchell Szczepanczykatt, an organizer with Chicago Media Action, will be our guest speaker.
From “Net Neutrality 101” by Save the Internet
“The network owners say they want a ‘tiered’ Internet. If you pay to get in the top tier, your site and your service will run fast. If you don’t, you’ll be in the slow lane….Make no mistake: The free-flowing Internet as we know it could very well become history.What does that mean? It means we could be headed toward a pay-per-view Internet where Web sites have fees. It means we may have to pay a network tax to run voice-over-the-Internet phones, use an advanced search engine, or chat via Instant Messenger.”
Questions for Consideration
What’s behind the legislation undermining net neutrality? If phone or cable companies are able to interfere with content on the internet, how would that affect our experience as internet users? Why should or shouldn’t telecom companies be allowed to control the speed at which users can access online information? How can we preserve freedom of information on the internet?
Want to learn more?
- Google’s Network Neutrality Policy Proposal
- The One Minute Case Against “Net Neutrality”
- Net Neutrality: What You Need to Know
- White House vows to veto bill that overturns net neutrality rules
- Support Net Neutrality to Preserve a Free and Democratic Internet
More about our guest speaker:
Mitchell Szczepanczyk is a software developer, radio show host on 88.5 FM, TV producer, political activist, aspiring polyglot, degree-holding linguist, and game show aficionado. Mitchell has contributed to many media projects in print, web, television, and radio. He has been involved in groups working toward positive social change, particularly around media and political economy.
As a longtime organizer with Chicago Media Action (CMA), Mitchell has worked on CMA campaigns around the Federal Communications Commission and corporate media concentration, public access television, public radio and television, community internet initiatives, network neutrality, and the U.S. digital television transition. He is also a co-founder of and organizer with CAPES, the Chicago Area Participatory Economics Society, and has organized events with CAPES around the model of participatory economics.
Free and open to the public. For more information, call 312.422.5580.
If you need a sign interpreter or require other arrangements to fully participate, please call 312.422.5580. For parking locations near the facility, please visit ChicagoParkingMap.com.