7thriv

A protest organized by MoveOn.org, Free Press and other advocacy groups angered by Google's recently proposed rules on governing Internet access drew about 70 activists to the online giant's Mountain View headquarters on Friday.

The animated group carried signs that read "Google Don't Be Evil," with devil horns and a pointed tail emerging from the company's name; chanted slogans as creative as "hey hey, ho ho, corporate greed has got to go"; and sang "democracy requires net neutrality" to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."

The gathering on Google's corporate campus was the latest example of a simmering backlash over an agreement announced this week between the company and Verizon to advance a set of federal rules that many say betray Google's earlier support for an open Internet.

The online search king and other Web businesses have long argued that Internet service providers should treat all legal Web content the same, providing users with unfettered access to the sites and services of their choosing, be they text news articles or network-clogging videos.

But the rules proposed by Google and Verizon included provisions that critics say contradict that position, in particular one that states wireless access providers wouldn't be subject to the same standards.