Right now in Washington, D.C., policymakers are debating new rules that will shape the future of the Internet, and they need to hear from women.

We have just a week left to tell the Federal Communications Commission (or FCC, the government agency for media) that the Internet is important to women and that we support Net Neutrality.

Have you added your voice?

If not, now’s the time to fire off a note to the FCC in support of Net Neutrality, which ensures that women can continue to use the Internet to:

• Produce and distribute women-centric media
• Organize and advocate for women’s issues
• Access resources, news and information that matter to our lives
• Run businesses and build professional networks online; and,
• Build community with friends, family and neighbors

The Internet serves as a rich source of content by and for women – in contrast to mainstream media, where our voices and perspectives are seldom heard. It’s the only open platform where we can express our own views and post material without permission from media gatekeepers. Net Neutrality ensures that women will continue to have a voice on the Internet.

That’s because Net Neutrality prevents phone and Internet companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from controlling the content that travels over the Internet or censoring our information online. In 2007, Verizon blocked a text message that NARAL-Pro Choice America was sending to its own members.

Without Net Neutrality, that kind of censorship can become the norm. Internet companies could choose whose voices are more important and whose views will be heard. That’s bad news for women.

Big phone and Internet companies recognize the Internet’s value – that’s why they want to control it. Together, AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner Cable spent $75 million in 2009 to deploy an army of anti-Net Neutrality lobbyists.

Those companies and the fake grassroots groups they fund have already sent their opinions to the FCC – which is why your voice is needed today. Click on this link to tell the FCC how important the Internet is to you and why you support Net Neutrality.

This blog post was originally published by the Feminist Peace Network.