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“Media Justice and the 99% Movement” (Dec. 2011) FAIR.org

“Media Justice and the 99% Movement” (Dec. 2011) FAIR.org . HOW NET NEUTRALITY HELPED OCCUPY WALL STREET. What is the occupy movement?.

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“Media Justice and the 99% Movement” (Dec. 2011) FAIR.org

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  1. “Media Justice and the 99% Movement” (Dec. 2011) FAIR.org HOW NET NEUTRALITY HELPED OCCUPY WALL STREET

  2. What is the occupy movement? The Occupy movement is an international protestmovement against social and economic inequality, its primary goal being to make the economic and political relations in all societies less vertically hierarchical and more flatly distributed.

  3. More on the occupy movement • The first #occupy protest to receive widespread attention was Occupy Wall Street in New York City's on 17 September 2011. • The #occupy movement has no official leaders. Anyone can be involved in the process and address the problems they face in their community. • The phrase "The 99%" is a political slogan used by protesters of the Occupy movement; originally launched as a Tumblr blog page in late August 2011. It refers to the concentration of wealth among the top 1% of income earners compared to the other 99 percent.

  4. September 17, 2011 – corporate media vs. independent media • During this Occupation, corporate media largely blocked out the protest and depicted them as drug-abusing hippies (the Fox News spin – Hannity, 10/10/11) or as directionless naifs with no message (New York Times, 9/23/11) • The 1% purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media. • Independent media outlets like Democracy Now!, Pacifica Radio, the Indypendent newspapers and public access TV channels w/ a combined audience of millions (99%), provided a platform for protesters to talk about why there supporting the Occupation: • Speaking out about rising unemployment, declining wages, education budget cuts, etc.

  5. September 17, 2011 – corporate media vs. independent media • The sophisticated and widespread use of social media elevated the activism to a national and global movement. • Independent media makers, citizen journalists, everyday people with camera phones captured the voices and faces of this movement, and uploaded them to Youtube, Facebook and Twitter. • These tools not only helped mobilize the movement but also showed the real scenario: police brutality toward the protestors. • Senior New York City police official pepper-spraying peaceful women protestors and temporarily blinding them. • Only then did the corporate media started paying attention to them. • The pepper-spraying incident was viewed more than 2 million times on Youtube, and was later posted on Facebook.

  6. digital media • In the age of digital media, anyone with an Internet connection can watch OWS’s General Assembly meeting on the live stream of the Occupy website; share an Occupy update on Facebook, or tweet it on Twitter—providing an ongoing venue for people to show support and participate virtually in the protests. • Social media have helped get people out of their nests and into the streets of Liberty Plaza and elsewhere, to attend a General Assembly or a working group meeting. • In New York, the working groups, many of them self-organized, have grown from 10 to over 70, largely through outreach done on the Internet.

  7. Media justice & Net neutrality • The democratization of media-making tools, particularly an open and unfettered Internet, has made the movement possible. • Right now, though, this open access is under threat. • Network neutrality is the principle that requires Internet service providers to treat all content equally, guaranteeing a level playing field for all websites and Internet technologies. • Net neutrality has facilitated democratic participation, allowing social justice organizations, cultural workers, citizen journalists, artists and small businesses to create, share and receive information freely. • Without net neutrality, small businesses, nonprofits and individuals who can’t afford high-speed services would have their ability to reach a mass audience online severely limited.

  8. Media justice & Net neutrality • The telecommunications corporations that provide Internet connections, like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast, want to increase their already mammoth profits by controlling websites, video, content and applications. • These corporations want their own sites and services to be easily available to the public, while slowing down access to those owned by their competitors—or by independent groups who can’t afford to pay the gatekeepers’ tolls. • In December 2010, the Federal Communications Commission issued new rules on net neutrality which have no real enforcement mechanism. • They provide zero protection for wireless devices—the mobile devices that have been so vital in the OWS movement for documenting police misconduct and spreading the word.

  9. Media justice & Net neutrality • The communities that will be most affected by the lack of wireless net neutrality provisions are low-income and people of color. A recent Pew Center study (7/7/10) showed that nearly two-thirds of people of color, mainly Latinos and African-Americans, access the Internet through their phones. • One of the biggest media justice fights now is to break up the emerging duopoly between AT&T and Verizon, potentially controlling 80 percent of the mobile market. In March 2011, AT&T announced plans to acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 billion. The loss of a low-cost wireless carrier like T-Mobile threatens to limit affordable mobile broadband access and stifle competition in the broadband market—making the absence of net neutrality protections for wireless devices even more problematic.

  10. Media justice & Net neutrality • Mobile Internet is vital to Occupy Wall Street and the flourishing global Occupy movement. But an open Internet is also a basic communication right. In a 21st century digital age, access to jobs, healthcare, housing, government assistance and education require Internet access. • This is not just an isolated issue about media policy—it is a social justice, civil rights and human rights issue. This is about the lives of the 99 percent.

  11. Philippine scenario: million people march – aug. 26, 2013

  12. The million people march – aug. 26, 2013 • Public outrage against government corruption and called for the full abolition of the pork barrel after a whistleblower identified businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles who is alleged to have conspired with lawmakers to pocket P10 billion through the fund. • The idea behind the Million People March originated from social media interactions between concerned netizens on Facebook and Twitter. • The concept for a million people march against the pork barrel began with a random Facebook post by music producer Ito Rapadas. • This was shared by various netizens including his friend Peachy Bretaña who suggested that the mass action be held on August 26 in time for the National Heroes Day.

  13. The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012

  14. The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (republic act no. 10175) • The Philippines has the freest Internet in Southeast Asia, but the passage of the controversial anti-cybercrime law marred its “excellent” record. • The law allows authorities to block online content without a warrant, facilitate government surveillance, and punish online libel with up to 12 years’ imprisonment. • Various petitioners – bloggers, netizens, human rights groups, journalists, political parties, lawyers, and members of the academe – said the law violates freedom of expression and freedom of speech, and gives the government too much power over Internet users. • Santiago has filed Senate Bill No. 53 or the Magna Carta for Philippine Internet Freedom (MCPIF), which protects the rights and freedoms of Filipinos in cyberspace, while defining and penalizing cybercrimes.

  15. Internet freedom costly for filipinos • While it welcomed the relatively free regulatory environment, Freedom House said “steep broadband subscription fees” and an industry monopoly remain obstacles to access in the Philippines. • Internet penetration in the Philippines was at 36% of 96 million in 2012, with only 2% of the population having fixed broadband subscriptions. Many still rely on dial-up connections, especially in the rural areas. • PLDT still controls 70 percent of the market and still lacks the kind of competition that would spur it to innovate or become more efficient for the end user. • Industry monopoly contributed to high costs of broadband subscriptions. • “The rivalry has not resulted in the kind of competition which reduces costs and increases efficiency for the end user. Instead, Smart and Globe have been mired in negotiations over interconnecting their networks for several years, which has also delayed the development of broadband services in many areas.” • The report also recommended that government streamline the “highly bureaucratic” institutions governing the ICT sector. It said agencies with ambiguous and overlapping functions slow the pace of development.

  16. Sources: • http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/08/27/million-people-march-against-corruption-in-the-philippines/ • http://business.inquirer.net/139733/aug-26-million-people-march#ixzz2nMN8knCD • http://www.rappler.com/nation/40520-philippines-cybercrime-law-net-freedom-2013 • http://www.zdnet.com/ph/philippine-cybercrime-law-must-protect-not-harass-citizens-7000006874/ • http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/07/03/961171/its-miriams-internet-freedom-bill-vs-anti-cybercrime-law • http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/focus/10/03/13/philippines-among-worlds-best-internet-freedom

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