'The Whole Internet Is Watching': As Deadline Nears, Day of Action Takes Aim at House Members Still Standing Against Net Neutrality

With the Dec. 10 deadline for the House of Representatives to reverse the FCC's deeply unpopular repeal of net neutrality rapidly approaching, a coalition of websites, prominent celebrity activists, and advocacy groups representing millions of Americans are participating in an internet-wide day of action on Thursday to pressure members of Congress to back the legislative effort to restore net neutrality protections before it's too late.

"We have an opportunity to show the entire world which elected officials are willing to fight for net neutrality, and which ones decide to sit on their hands and let big telecom companies take control."
--Evan Greer, Fight for the Future

During the day of action and in the week leading up to the final deadline, advocacy groups are urging supporters of the free internet to flood the phone lines of their representatives and sign on to their open letter to Congress demanding that they act to save net neutrality.

Read the full open letter and sign on here.

Click here for outreach materials and other tools to spread the word about the upcoming deadline and pressure members of Congress.

"Net neutrality is not dead yet. Not even close," Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight for the Future (FFTF), said in a statement. "But as the clock runs out for this Congress to act, we have an opportunity to show the entire world which elected officials are willing to fight for net neutrality, and which ones decide to sit on their hands and let big telecom companies take control over what we can see and do on the internet."

According to FFTF, 18 House Democrats still haven't signed on to the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that would restore net neutrality protections--and one possible explanation is that they are major recipients of telecom cash.

To pass the CRA that would overturn FCC chair Ajit Pai's net neutrality repeal, the House needs 218 signatures on the measure. As of this writing, 177 members of Congress have signed on.

"The whole internet is watching you," the net neutrality backers' open letter to Congress declares. "The deadline is fast approaching. You have less than a month to make a decision that will impact the future of humanity: will you vote to restore net neutrality and help save the free and open Internet? Or will you go down in history as one of the politicians who helped hasten its death?"

"Internet users expect and deserve action," the letter continues. "It's time for members of the House to put partisan politics aside and protect the future of America's internet."