Ohio protests to support net neutrality

Sixteen protests are planned in Ohio Thursday and Saturday for protesters to speak out in favor of net neutrality.

A vote is planned Dec. 14 by the FCC on if rules should be lifted that keep Internet service providers from giving faster speeds to websites that pay higher fees.

"The fear is that without network neutrality, without that protection, the Internet service providers will have more power to charge you more to access certain sites or certain services," Christopher Mitchell, director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative for the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, told reporters. "Historically, the example is that you might get charged more to use Netflix."

All Ohio protests are scheduled for Thursday, with the exception of one scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at the Newark Verizon store, 1069 N. 21st St.

Protests include sites in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Canton, Akron, Columbus, Mount Vernon, Springfield and Sandusky.

A complete schedule of events can be found at http://events.battleforthenet.com.

Ohio News Connection contributed to this report.

