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"We've won this same fight before." (Photo: Free Press/flickr/cc)
Join the Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality
"There's no way to resist this administration or engage in any other kind of activism online without Net Neutrality"
Jun 09, 2017
The Trump FCC is doing everything it can to destroy the open Internet--and on July 12, the Internet is fighting back.
"The loss of the open-Internet rules will kill free speech online, and will disproportionately harm the same communities--people of color, immigrants, Muslims, the LGBTQ community--the Trump team has targeted with one hateful action after the other."
On that day, companies like Amazon, Etsy, Kickstarter, Mozilla and reddit--along with individuals and groups like Free Press Action Fund, the ACLU, the American Library Association, Demand Progress and Fight for the Future--will take part in a national day of action online.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai wants to dismantle Title II--the legal framework that's essential to preserving Net Neutrality--and repeal the rules themselves. That means companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon would be able to throttle or outright block content and charge content creators for speedier access.
Pai's a former Verizon lawyer who also once worked for Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and he's been huddling with industry lobbyists and courting the right wing in his quest to demolish the Internet's level playing field. While he claims to support the principles of Net Neutrality, that's just another alternative fact from an administration rife with them.
We've won this same fight before: Back in May 2014, after then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler released a proposal that would have allowed broadband providers to discriminate online, advocacy groups organized the Internet Slowdown, a day when dozens of major tech companies and thousands of organizations displayed a slow-loading icon on their sites to give people a taste of what the Internet could look like without Net Neutrality.
That action--along with many other protests and the pro-Net Neutrality comments of 4 million people--pushed Wheeler to abandon his plan and enact strong open-internet protections. These are the same protections that are in danger right now.
There's no way to resist this administration or engage in any other kind of activism online without Net Neutrality. The loss of the open-Internet rules will kill free speech online, and will disproportionately harm the same communities--people of color, immigrants, Muslims, the LGBTQ community--the Trump team has targeted with one hateful action after the other.
We need to do everything we can to fight back. Sign up today to participate in the July 12 day of action.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Amy Kroin
Amy Kroin is the editor at Free Press and Free Press Action. She is co-author, with Mike Rispoli and Kevin Davis, of the case study New Jersey's Civic Information Bill: The Story of the Campaign to Transform Local Media.
The Trump FCC is doing everything it can to destroy the open Internet--and on July 12, the Internet is fighting back.
"The loss of the open-Internet rules will kill free speech online, and will disproportionately harm the same communities--people of color, immigrants, Muslims, the LGBTQ community--the Trump team has targeted with one hateful action after the other."
On that day, companies like Amazon, Etsy, Kickstarter, Mozilla and reddit--along with individuals and groups like Free Press Action Fund, the ACLU, the American Library Association, Demand Progress and Fight for the Future--will take part in a national day of action online.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai wants to dismantle Title II--the legal framework that's essential to preserving Net Neutrality--and repeal the rules themselves. That means companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon would be able to throttle or outright block content and charge content creators for speedier access.
Pai's a former Verizon lawyer who also once worked for Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and he's been huddling with industry lobbyists and courting the right wing in his quest to demolish the Internet's level playing field. While he claims to support the principles of Net Neutrality, that's just another alternative fact from an administration rife with them.
We've won this same fight before: Back in May 2014, after then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler released a proposal that would have allowed broadband providers to discriminate online, advocacy groups organized the Internet Slowdown, a day when dozens of major tech companies and thousands of organizations displayed a slow-loading icon on their sites to give people a taste of what the Internet could look like without Net Neutrality.
That action--along with many other protests and the pro-Net Neutrality comments of 4 million people--pushed Wheeler to abandon his plan and enact strong open-internet protections. These are the same protections that are in danger right now.
There's no way to resist this administration or engage in any other kind of activism online without Net Neutrality. The loss of the open-Internet rules will kill free speech online, and will disproportionately harm the same communities--people of color, immigrants, Muslims, the LGBTQ community--the Trump team has targeted with one hateful action after the other.
We need to do everything we can to fight back. Sign up today to participate in the July 12 day of action.
Amy Kroin
Amy Kroin is the editor at Free Press and Free Press Action. She is co-author, with Mike Rispoli and Kevin Davis, of the case study New Jersey's Civic Information Bill: The Story of the Campaign to Transform Local Media.
The Trump FCC is doing everything it can to destroy the open Internet--and on July 12, the Internet is fighting back.
"The loss of the open-Internet rules will kill free speech online, and will disproportionately harm the same communities--people of color, immigrants, Muslims, the LGBTQ community--the Trump team has targeted with one hateful action after the other."
On that day, companies like Amazon, Etsy, Kickstarter, Mozilla and reddit--along with individuals and groups like Free Press Action Fund, the ACLU, the American Library Association, Demand Progress and Fight for the Future--will take part in a national day of action online.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai wants to dismantle Title II--the legal framework that's essential to preserving Net Neutrality--and repeal the rules themselves. That means companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon would be able to throttle or outright block content and charge content creators for speedier access.
Pai's a former Verizon lawyer who also once worked for Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and he's been huddling with industry lobbyists and courting the right wing in his quest to demolish the Internet's level playing field. While he claims to support the principles of Net Neutrality, that's just another alternative fact from an administration rife with them.
We've won this same fight before: Back in May 2014, after then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler released a proposal that would have allowed broadband providers to discriminate online, advocacy groups organized the Internet Slowdown, a day when dozens of major tech companies and thousands of organizations displayed a slow-loading icon on their sites to give people a taste of what the Internet could look like without Net Neutrality.
That action--along with many other protests and the pro-Net Neutrality comments of 4 million people--pushed Wheeler to abandon his plan and enact strong open-internet protections. These are the same protections that are in danger right now.
There's no way to resist this administration or engage in any other kind of activism online without Net Neutrality. The loss of the open-Internet rules will kill free speech online, and will disproportionately harm the same communities--people of color, immigrants, Muslims, the LGBTQ community--the Trump team has targeted with one hateful action after the other.
We need to do everything we can to fight back. Sign up today to participate in the July 12 day of action.
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