In February 2006, AOL announced that it would accept payment for incoming emails. For these certified emails, it would skip its usual anti-spam filters and guarantee delivery for cash. A broad coalition of both conservative and progressive political groups, charities, nonprofits, small businesses, labor unions, and Internet advocacy organizations and experts believes that the free passage of email between Internet users is a vital part of what makes the Internet work. When ISPs demand a cut of "pay-to-send" email, they're raising tollbooths on the open Net, interfering with the passage of data by demanding protection money at the gates of their customers' computers. Read More... and send a letter to AOL.

But the story gets worse... America's big phone and cable companies want to start charging exorbitant user fees for the supposedly-free Internet. Read the details in The End of the Internet? by Jeff Chester published a month ago in the Nation.

In anticipation of Sen. Ron Wyden's (D. OR) introduction of Net Neutrality legislation in the U.S. Senate today, Jeff Pulver's blog entry of March 1st highlights what he sees as issues critical to keeping the nature and viability of the "open Internet." Entitled "Net Neutrality in the U.S. Senate." Media mavens will can track his daily commentary at: http://pulverblog.pulver.com/.

Telecommunications companies are hoping to create a tiered Internet, with levels of access that vary depending on how much their customers can afford.

Protect Internet Neutrality!
Send a message to the Senate Commerce Committee.

On Thursday, March 2 at 3 PM on the Ideas Network WRP.org Ben Merens’ guest says large media companies are working to control the Internet, which could jeopardize the web as a free-wheeling democratic forum.Guest: Celia Wexler, vice president for advocacy, Common Cause. www.commoncause.org

Gethuman.com is the result of a consumer movement created to change the face of customer service. This free website is powered by over one million consumers, and the site is run by volunteers who demand high quality customer service. The site has information for many types of companies including credit cards, finance companies (banks and mortgages), insurance companies, cell phone providers and many others.

The most popular part of the gethuman website is the gethuman database of secret phone numbers and codes to get to a human when calling a company for customer service.

It started as a blog by Paul English, who is now the chief technical officer ofKayak.com, a new kind of travel search site that helps you find travel deals from other websites.