Canadians Step Up to Stop the Meter
Canadian Internet users rose up to defend Internet freedom when they beat back an attempt by the big telecoms to meter broadband usage. After a public outcry, both the liberal and conservative parties came together to stop the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission – the Canadian version of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission – from imposing usage-based billing, which would bill customers based on the amount of data they use in a month. Listen to Media Minutes for the story.
Instrumental in the fight was OpenMedia.ca, which created the Stop the Meter campaign. This staff of three and their volunteers revved up the Canadian public by giving people a place to vent their anger and frustration – and a way to fight back.
Steve Anderson, founder and national coordinator of OpenMedia.ca, says that the outpouring of support is unprecedented – more than 440,000 signed the petition to "stop the meter" in a matter of weeks. Why? Anderson said it was because the negative results of the ruling were very tangible – people were already feeling the impact.
Anderson talks about why people got involved in such great numbers.
The success of Stop the Meter shows how the Internet makes it possible for a small group of committed people to make a big difference.
OpenMedia forged coalitions with several advocacy groups. But a major push came from independent service providers and Netflix.
Anderson would like to see more collaboration between Canadian and U.S.