The slowdown is a protest against the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) proposal to permit Internet service providers like Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) to add charges for websites that want to travel the Internet fast lane. If the FCC’s proposal is approved, opponents say, net neutrality is dead.
Websites that support the slowdown will display a “loading” symbol, the so-called “spinning wheel of death,” and won’t actually slowdown. A spokesperson for the porn sites had this to say in a post on Reddit:
We’re in. Let’s make some waves!
We’ll be displaying an official widget from battleforthenet.com. We won’t be shutting down or streaming your porn slower. There will be a big in your face message that users will need to close. We hope to reach around 50 million people on Sept 10th.
Notice the number. That’s what makes this a big deal. Porn has been a facilitator of technological progress since the porn industry adopted the VHS tape in favor Betamax. According to a story in the Bangkok Post, in 2010 12% (about 25 million) of all websites were porn sites, and more the $3,000 was being spent every second of the day on Internet porn.
In 2013, more than half of all page views at Pornhub were made from mobile phones, and if tablets are included 62% of all porn page views were made from a mobile device. Alexa lists Pornhub as the 48th most visited site in the United States and the 75th most visited site in the world. That is higher than Dropbox — 89th globally, 55th in the U.S. — or Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) — 83rd globally, 25th in the U.S. Even Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) ranks only slightly higher in the U.S. — 40th — and way below globally — 183rd.
Porn is big business. There are enough viewers in the United States to send a “no fast-lane” message to the FCC that the commission would have to notice.
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