Net Neutrality Activists Picket Outside FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's Speech at the American Enterprise Institute

WASHINGTON — On Friday, Net Neutrality protesters greeted FCC Chairman Ajit Pai at the American Enterprise Institute as he continued his tour of right-wing institutions to tout his plans to dismantle the open internet protections.

Protesters picketed in front of the think tank and shared fact sheets with passersby. The action was supported by Free Press Action Fund, Demand Progress, Faithful Internet, Popular Resistance and Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press.

Last week, Pai unveiled his plan to erase the FCC’s 2015 Net Neutrality rules. The chairman will recommend that the FCC abandon the Title II protections that are essential to preserving the open internet. The move would allow broadband providers like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon to discriminate online.

Free Press Field Director Mary Alice Crim made the following statement:

“We won’t stop showing up where Ajit Pai does until he drops his quest to destroy Net Neutrality. Pai has devoted his career to serving corporate gatekeepers that want to lock down our internet. Now he works for authoritarians and white nationalists in the Trump administration.

“People need Net Neutrality to expose corporate wrongdoing, push back against racism and other forms of hate, hold leaders accountable and fight for justice. Losing the open internet would harm all internet users, and it would have particularly harsh impacts for people of color and other vulnerable communities.

“It took activists a decade to secure real Net Neutrality, and we’re not going to give it up without a fight. More than 4 million people spoke out for the open internet in 2015, and we’re going to mobilize millions more to safeguard that victory in 2017.”