This is a question we’ve been thinking about for a while now, and with deeply frightening news from ACTA leaks threatening more internet-restrictive legislation, it seems a pertinent observation: do corporate viral videos inherently support Net Neutrality?

Viral marketing has become a huge part of corporate advertising and branding, from small companies, like our lovely client Green Apple Books, to giants like Samsung, whose LED sheep have been one of the big viral hits of 2009.

So if companies use the democratic space of YouTube and the blog world to build organic buzz for their product, and understand the value in that dialogue, then does that mean with each viral video, companies are supporting Net Neutrality? To put up a simple video, and allow people to share it, means that these companies are depending on equal-access broadband hand-to-hand media relationships built on the easy transfer of information.

Legislation like the ACTA, which has inspired doomsaying across the known internet, and Congress’ Net Neutrality laws, which look to prioritize access to high-speed internet, will slow down and dramatically alter the way we digest video and audio online. And for companies, this type of slowdown means that viral video won’t matter anymore. Perhaps I’m being an optimist, but with each viral campaign, the current state of high-speed access gets legitimized by corporations looking to enter this public dialogue. Not only are they depending on the way people share video to get their viral content seen, but these companies are looking to tie the culture and values of the free internet to their brand.

So if a company says they don’t support Net Neutrality, look to their YouTube channel, and you might see evidence to the contrary.

Here are places you can go to support Net Neutrality:
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Save The Internet