Advocates Announce Symbolic ‘Internet Slowdown’ to Show What Web Would Be Like Without Net Neutrality

WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, a diverse range of public interest groups representing more than 10 million people announced a day of mass online mobilization on Sept. 10 in support of Net Neutrality. On that day, numerous websites, social networks, online activism organizations and others will call on their members to contact the Federal Communications Commission and demand real Net Neutrality protections. (Sites will employ icons that symbolize a slower Internet, but will not actually load more slowly.)

More information can be found at https://www.battleforthenet.com/sept10th/

Many major tech companies and Web platforms are participating in the Sept. 10 Internet Slowdown. Those names are currently confidential and will be released later this week.

Earlier this year, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler proposed rules that would allow Internet service providers to charge fees for speedier access, discriminate against online content, and undermine Net Neutrality. The organizations participating in the Internet Slowdown are urging their members to submit comments to the FCC in opposition to this proposal and in support of rules that would protect Net Neutrality. Participating groups are also encouraging their members to urge their elected officials to speak out for strong Net Neutrality protections.

More than 4 million people have expressed their opposition to the FCC’s proposal, including via the submission of more than 1 million formal comments. Internet Slowdown organizers are urging website owners — from the smallest blogs to the largest online platforms — to participate in the day of action. They can do so by displaying “widgets” available at  https://www.battleforthenet.com/sept10th/ that will make it easy for site visitors to submit comments to the FCC. The widgets also display the revolving icon used to symbolize slowly loading content to illustrate how the loss of Net Neutrality would harm websites and other online services.

Those calling for the day of activism include the American Civil Liberties Union, Common Cause, the Center for Media Justice, ColorOfChange, DailyKos, Demand Progress, Democracy for America, Democrats.com, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Engine Advocacy, Fight for the Future, the Free Press Action Fund, the Future of Music Coalition, Greenpeace USA, the Harry Potter Alliance, the Media Alliance, MoveOn, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, OpenMedia, Popular Resistance, Presente.org, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Progressives United, the Other 98%, RootsAction, Rootstrikers, SumOfUs, Voqal, and Women, Action & the Media.

“Remember when there was only one major railroad company, and just a few banks?” said Fight for the Future Co-Founder Tiffiniy Cheng. “That's what Comcast's proposal will lead to — a few dominant Web companies shoved down our throats. Comcast's proposal would relegate all the weird, alternative, creative, personal, interesting and independent content that makes the Web so much cooler than cable TV to a netherworld most of us wouldn't see. The FCC seems to think they can hide in their bunker in Washington, D.C., but they've underestimated the fervor of the Internet scorned. Since Comcast and the FCC continue to work on slipping paid prioritization through, we're going to show the world what they're really calling for. The Internet will fight to the death before it lets any government or corporation trample online free expression.”

“The ISPs have invested tens of millions of dollars in their effort to undermine Net Neutrality,” said Demand Progress Executive Director David Segal, “but we still have a chance of defeating them — because the overwhelming majority of Americans stand with the open Internet. Sept. 10th represents a chance for us to make that fact impossible to ignore.”

“Millions already have spoken out against the FCC's slow-lane scheme, but FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler seems to think if he hides out in Washington the public will lose interest," said Free Press Action Fund President and CEO Craig Aaron. “But the public outcry is only growing louder — and the Internet Slowdown will show millions more people what a world without real Net Neutrality would look like. If you claim to support the free and open Internet, you must pick a side in this battle. And being on Team Internet means you support reclassifying broadband under Title II of the Communications Act. There's still a spot for Tom Wheeler on Team Internet, but only if he heeds the public and changes course now.”

“Millions have made it clear that reclassifying ISPs as common carriers is the only way to ensure that the Internet remains a level playing field for all,” said National Hispanic Media Coalition Policy Director Michael Scurato. “For Latinos and other communities who have suffered discrimination at the hands of traditional media, this is crucial. Allowing Internet service providers to discriminate would come at a high cost, as history has shown that if diverse and dissenting voices can be blocked, they will be.”

“Despite what cable companies want you to believe, Net Neutrality has been the norm in this country for most of the Internet’s existence, and it is one of the key reasons we have a strong startup sector driving the nation’s economy,” said Engine Advocacy Policy Director Evan Engstrom. “The FCC’s proposed plan would radically alter how the Internet functions, slowing down all but the most well-heeled incumbent companies and pricing the next wave of innovative startups out of the market. If the FCC has any interest in ensuring that the Internet remains a viable platform for economic growth, it must reclassify broadband as a Title II service.”

More background:

The FCC’s proposal would be a huge boon for broadband providers, and would undermine the Internet as we know it. Under the proposed rules, cable giants like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon would be able to create a two-tiered Internet, with fast lanes for the wealthy few and slow lanes for the rest of us.

Cable companies would have the power to discriminate against online content and applications — they could pick winners and losers, shake sites down for fees, block content for political reasons, and favor content from entities the cable companies own.

To ensure the open Internet is protected over the long term, the FCC must abandon its proposal and reclassify Internet service as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Telecommunications Act. Reclassification would allow the FCC to require that broadband providers deliver all content at equal speeds.