Net Neutrality is one of the hottest tech- and Internet-related topics right now, as the FCC’s proposed regulations could have a negative impact on the way Internet companies work, and ultimately, on the pocket of regular Internet users. But because the matter seems complex, and awfully boring in some cases, not many people take a stance against the FCC’s proposals. That has been the argument of comedian John Oliver’s appeal to Internet trolls. And not only that — during his Sunday HBO show “Last week Tonight” he called upon trolls to tell the FCC how they feel about its proposal.
“At this point, and I can’t believe I’m about to do this, I would like to address the Internet commenters out there directly,” Oliver said, after hilariously explaining the problem with current Net Neutrality regulation proposals.
“Good evening monsters, this may be the moment you’ve spent your whole lives training for,” Oliver added, making fun of the kind of comments Internet users post online showing no remorse, or disregarding any common sense. “For once in your life, we need you to channel that anger, that badly spelled boil that you normally reserve for unforgivable attacks on actresses you seem to think put on weight, or politicians that you disagree with, or photos of your ex-girlfriend getting on with her life, or non-white actors being cast as fictional characters […], we need you to get out there, and for once in your lives focus your indiscriminate rage in a useful direction.”
And it looks like Oliver’s argument has been more than successful at convincing Internet users to take a stance against the FCC’s Net Neutrality regulations, as the FCC’s website has been swamped by reactions.
“We’ve been experiencing technical difficulties with our comment system due to heavy traffic,” the FCC wrote on Twitter on Monday evening. “We’re working to resolve these issues quickly,” the Commission added, posting the same message a few hours later on Twitter.
Titled “Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet,” the FCC’s Net Neutrality page currently has almost 50,000 comments right now.
Oliver’s hilarious video that went viral on YouTube follows below, while detailed instructions on how to tell the FCC your piece about Net Neutrality are available here.
