Protect Your Freedom of Speech

Been quiet as of late, appologies to those wondering what we were up to. This recent news came to our attention a few days ago and deserves a mention. It may not affect us directly, but picture a near future where corporations and communication companies control what you can see and hear, filtering content to support their agendas. ... wait, are we already there? Take the Power back, read on for details.

ROCK CONCERT WEBCAST: SPONSORED/CENSORED BY AT&T?
A live Internet broadcast of Pearl Jam's performance at Chicago's Lollapalooza music festival Sunday went off without a hitch -- until singer Eddie Vedder criticized President Bush.

Lyrics critical of the president didn't make it past editors of the show's Webcast, the band complained Wednesday on its Web site.

When asked about the missing performance, AT&T informed Lollapalooza that portions of the show were in fact missing from the webcast, and that their content monitor had made a mistake in cutting them.

During the performance of "Daughter" the following lyrics were sung to the tune of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" but were cut from the webcast:

- "George Bush, leave this world alone." (the second time it was sung); and
- "George Bush find yourself another home."

This, of course, troubles us as artists but also as citizens concerned with the issue of censorship and the increasingly consolidated control of the media.

AT&T's actions strike at the heart of the public's concerns over the power that corporations have when it comes to determining what the public sees and hears through communications media. Aspects of censorship, consolidation, and preferential treatment of the internet are now being debated under the umbrella of "NetNeutrality."

Even the ex-head of AT&T, CEO Edward Whitacre, has stated just last March that fears his company and other big network providers would block traffic on their networks are overblown. "Any provider that blocks access to content is inviting customers to find another provider." (Marguerite Reardon, Staff Writer, CNET News.com Published: March 21, 2006, 2:23 PM PST).

But what if there is only one provider from which to choose? If a company that is controlling a webcast is cutting out bits of our performance -not based on laws, but on their own preferences and interpretations - fans have little choice but to watch the censored version.

What happened to Pearl Jam this weekend should be viewed as a wake up call, and it's about something much bigger than the censorship of a rock band. Wake up people. Inform yourself, and fight for your rights.

PEARL JAM : Full Articles
SAVE THE INTERNET
PJ : Activism
INFOWARS