To the Editor:

Re “To Curb Traffic on the Internet, Access Providers Consider Charging by the Gigabyte” (news article, June 15):

To the list of odious consequences of “Internet metering,” one more concern should be added: the threat to artistic expression. As a screenwriter, I have watched with dismay as fewer and fewer companies have come to control both movie production and distribution. Recently, many filmmakers have turned to the Internet as an affordable opportunity for self-distribution and thus greater artistic freedom.

It is an unfortunate reality that many Internet service providers are owned by the same companies we are trying to escape (Time Warner and Comcast, for instance).

By regulating access to part of the Internet, these companies could easily limit challenges to their film and TV distribution arms, thereby diminishing artistic opportunity for the country as a whole. Ari B. Rubin

Venice, Calif., June 15, 2008