Demand Progress

It’s Time to Win Back Net Neutrality!

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    It’s Time to Win Back Net Neutrality!

    Petition to Congress and the FCC:
    I strongly support the FCC’s current effort to reinstate net neutrality and Title II authority, which is critical for an open internet, expanding broadband access, privacy protections, and public safety.

    BIG NEWS: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) just moved forward with a proposal to restore net neutrality protections that were repealed under Trump.1

    That means it’s absolutely critical for us to show our support now and in the coming weeks. This is by far the best chance we’ve had to win a free and open internet since the Trump administration’s disastrous decision to repeal net neutrality protections in 2017.

    Telecom lobbyists and their Republican allies like Ted Cruz are already working overtime to block or at least water down the FCC’s proposed rule.2 We need to take action NOW to voice our support for net neutrality.

    Demand Progress has been a longtime champion of net neutrality, the idea that internet service providers (ISPs) like Verizon and Comcast must treat all content equally. That means that providers can’t censor content, create “fast lanes” for their own products, throttle traffic, or block access to their competitors.1

    In 2015, the Obama FCC enshrined net neutrality rules with the Open Internet Order. Then in 2017, the FCC under Trump-appointed Chair Ajit Pai overturned the regulations, putting corporate internet providers back in control of the internet.

    Since that time, we’ve seen what happens when these corporations are allowed to control how we experience the internet. Verizon throttled traffic for firefighters during massive wildfires;3 ISPs have left poor, rural, and communities of color behind by cutting them out of infrastructure expansion; some companies have even forced users to watch ads before connecting to the internet.4,5

    We’ve never been closer to restoring net neutrality, but we need to keep pushing. 

    Sources:

    1. New York Times, “F.C.C. Moves Toward Restoring Net Neutrality Rules, Igniting Regulatory Fight,” September 15, 2023.
    2. Senator Cramer, “Senators Oppose Proposed FCC Net Neutrality Rules,” October 6, 2023.
    3. Slate, “Goodbye, Ajit Pai,” January 20, 2021.
    4. ArsTechnica, “CenturyLink blocked its customers’ Internet access in order to show an ad,” December 17, 2018.
    5. Daily Kos, “Biden's FCC is planning on reinstating Net Neutrality protections,” September 26, 2018.

     

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