People + Policy
= Positive Change for the Public Good
Submitted by bill brown on Mon, 09/29/2014 - 5:30pm
SAVE THE INTERNET
The FCC just voted to end Net Neutrality — ignoring the outcry from millions of people like you.
We can't let Chairman Pai have the last word on this.
Step One
SIGN THE PETITION
Step Two
MAKE THE CALL
Enter your phone number and zip code below and we'll connect you directly to your lawmakers.
Here's a sample script for you to use during your call:
Hello. I'm calling to urge Rep./Sen. _______ to stand up for the open internet.
Please use the CRA to pass a resolution of disapproval reversing the FCC's bad Net Neutrality vote.
Thank you.
Step Three
SPREAD THE WORD
Net Neutrality keeps the internet free and open — enabling anyone to share and access information of their choosing without interference.
But on Dec. 14, 2017, the FCC voted along party lines to pass Chairman Pai’s plan to dismantle the Net Neutrality rules.
Without these rules, companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon will be able to block or slow down any online content — including political speech they disagree with. This will disproportionately harm people of color and other marginalized communities who use the internet to fight systemic discrimination and share their stories.
Net Neutrality is essential to education, economic opportunity, innovation, social movements and dissent. Without Net Neutrality there’s no way to organize for justice or power the resistance.
The Fight’s Not Over
It took millions of people signing petitions, bombarding the FCC with comments, calling lawmakers and protesting in the streets to win the Net Neutrality rules in 2015. Now that the Trump FCC has overturned these protections, we need to do all that — and more — to save the open internet. Urge Congress to reverse the FCC vote today.
Click here to see the
TIMELINE of the NET NEUTRALITY FIGHT
Jan. 14, 2014:
A federal court strikes down the FCC’s 2010 Open Internet Order.
April 19:
The FCC’s new proposal is leaked — and public interest in Net Neutrality soars.
May 15:
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler officially proposes his flawed rules. Hundreds of people converge outside the FCC headquarters in Washington, D.C. and rallies break out in cities across the U.S.
July 15:
On the day initial public comments on the FCC’s proposal are due, the agency’s servers crash thanks to the heavy traffic. Within a few short hours Free Press and allies mobilize to hand-deliver hundreds of thousands of comments. The agency makes the unprecedented move of extending its deadline by three days.
July-August:
The SUMMER TO SAVE THE INTERNET: Activists participate in dozens upon dozens of in-district meetings with congressional offices, rally outside fundraisers President Obama attends in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, and file comments in record numbers at the FCC in favor of real Net Neutrality.
Sept. 10:
The Internet Slowdown. On Sept. 10, hundreds of organizations and online companies — including Netflix, Kickstarter, Etsy and Tumblr — display a spinning icon representing a slow-loading Internet on their websites. This massive day of action drives 2 million emails and nearly 300,000 calls to Congress, and 777,364 people file comments with the FCC.
Sept. 15:
The period for public reply comments closes. A record-breaking 3.7 million people have filed comments — and most support real Net Neutrality. Big rallies are held in New York City and Philadelphia.
Oct. 21
Activists rally in College Station, Texas, and pack a hearing convened by FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai, a Net Neutrality foe.
Oct. 27
Free Press and allies organize a big speakout in New York City to highlight the voices of the communities the FCC's decision will most impact.
Oct. 30
The Wall Street Journal reports on new rules under consideration — rules that would still allow slow lanes online. A huge backlash follows in the press and among public interest groups.
Nov. 10
President Obama releases a video statement urging the FCC to reclassify broadband under Title II.
Jan. 7, 2015
Chairman Wheeler signals that he will likely base new Net Neutrality rules on Title II. He announces that a vote on these rules will take place on Feb. 26.
Feb. 4, 2015
Chairman Wheeler confirms that his new rules use Title II to give Internet users the strongest protections possible.
Feb. 26, 2015
Victory! The FCC approves Title II-based rules that ban blocking, throttling and paid prioritization online.
May 13, 2015
Free Press files a legal motion to intervene in the industry-backed court case challenging the FCC's Net Neutrality rules.
Sept. 21, 2015
Free Press files a joint legal brief to defend the FCC’s Net Neutrality rules.
June 14, 2016
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejects an industry challenge and upholds the FCC's Open Internet Order in all respects, stating that the agency exercised its proper authority when it reclassified broadband internet access as a telecom service under Title II of the Communications Act.
May 18, 2017
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai releases a proposal that would destroy the Title II Net Neutrality rules.
Aug. 30, 2017
More than 22 million comments are submitted on Pai's plan. The FCC ignores widespread proof of fake and fraudulent comments. Studies show up to 98 percent of legitimate individual comments support keeping the open-internet rules.
Nov. 22, 2017
Draft text of Pai's proposal is released. Within days, 500,000 calls are made to Congress asking lawmakers to call on the FCC to cancel the vote.
Dec. 14, 2017
The FCC’s Republican majority votes to gut the Net Neutrality rules. The two Democratic commissioners dissent. Free Press pledges to sue the FCC.
Join Us
Our rights to connect and communicate — via universally accessible, open, affordable and fast communications networks and devices — are essential to our individual, economic and political freedoms.
And right now — when the rights of undocumented immigrants, people of color, religious minorities, women and the LGBTQ community are under attack — we need the open internet to mobilize and fight back.
