The Federal Communications Commisision will hold a hearing about the future of the Internet on Thursday, April 17th on the campus of Stanford University. The 12pm hearing will be preceded by entertainment from the Raging Grannies.

In 2007, several organizations confirmed that Comcast, which is a giant cable company, had been secretly blocking and degrading particular applications over several months, while denying its actions publicly. After consumer groups and law scholars filed a petition with the FCC asking the agency to find that Comcast's misdeeds violated consumers' rights, Comcast packed the seats in a hearing at Harvard University with its own supporters, preventing the public from attending. Activists from Free Press, a consumer advocate group, caught part of Comcast's "sleeper cell" on tape snoozing through the hearing. Free Press estimated that hundreds of interested people, meanwhile, were turned away for lack of space.

Many media advocacy organizations hope that the FCC will change its habit of siding with industry and that net neutrality will be preserved. Internet users are concerned that corporate gatekeepers will try to block, filter, and discriminate against websites and services that are used every day. Media Alliance writes, "Anyone who depends on the Internet for accurate information, connecting with like-minded folks, or promoting events and actions has a huge stake in a neutral Internet. "

"Talk Back to the FCC" speaker practice sessions are planned for cities around the Bay Area this week: Monday at 6pm in Berkeley | Tuesday at 4:30 in San Francisco | Wednesday at 6:30 in East Palo Alto

Comcast Blocks the Internet, Then the Public Media Alliance