Netflix announced Monday that it will participate in an "Internet Slowdown" protest on Sept. 10th to push for strong U.S. rules regarding net neutrality.
Thousands of other websites will be participating in the event, such as Kickstarter and Reddit, according to Reuters. The companies are calling for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to enforce equal treatment of internet traffic and regulate internet service providers (ISPs) as though they were public utilities.
The agency is looking into establishing rules that would determine whether ISPs should be allowed to charge content companies in certain situations to make sure their websites and applications will load quickly and smoothly.
Netflix and other websites will put up a spinning icon on Wednesday to represent slow-loading internet, and the icon will come with a link to more information about the FCC's proposal, Reuters reported. The video streaming service will put the icon on the Netflix.com homes pages for members and non-members.
The "Slowdown" follows FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's proposal for paid prioritized delivery online for deals that have been declared "commercially reasonable," which critics opposed, fearing it would create fast lanes for websites to pay for quick delivery, while companies that wouldn't pay would be stuck in slow lanes.
U.S. courts have already struck down the FCC's net neutrality rules on two occasions, with Verizon, Comcast and other ISPs, saying they would abide by the principles of net neutrality but are against the FCC regulating the situation, PC Magazine reported.
The online protest will not actually slow the websites' services the same way they were slowed down during protests against SOPA and PIPA in 2012. It is instead aimed at persuading Internet users to send comments to the FCC, Congress and the White House about net neutrality.
Websites are being asked to run the icon all day on Wednesday and replace social media avatars with it, and app developers will be able to send push notifications as well, PC Magazine reported. The event is being organized by consumer groups Free Press, Demand Progress, Fight for the Future, and Engine.
The FCC has been accepting public comments on how it should regulate net neutrality, and received over 1.1 million comments in the first round this summer. The second round of comments is currently taking place, and the agency will accept comments until Sept. 15th.
