Net Neutrality Activists Prepare for Day of Action as Pressure Mounts Against the FCC

WASHINGTON -- On Thursday, nearly 100 organizations sent a letter urging President Obama and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to reject any rules that would harm the open Internet. Wheeler has been under intense pressure to abandon his proposed rules, which reportedly would allow Internet service providers to prioritize content from websites and services that are willing to pay an extra fee.  

“Instead of restoring this important principle of nondiscrimination, the Commission’s proposal would make things even worse,” reads the letter, which was signed by Access, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Media Justice, ColorOfChange, Common Cause, Consumers Union, CREDO Action, Demand Progress, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Fight for the Future and the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute, among many others. “Internet service providers should not be in the business of picking winners and losers online … Instead, the Commission must propose and adopt legally sound rules that keep the Internet an open and nondiscriminatory platform for speech and innovation.”

Also on Thursday, Free Press launched a website coordinating a May 15 day of action to save the Internet. The suite of on- and offline actions — including a rally in front of the FCC that morning — will coincide with the FCC’s next open meeting, where commissioners will vote on whether to proceed with Chairman Wheeler’s proposal.

The site may15.savetheinternet.com is an online hub for public protest. It enables people to RSVP for the May 15 rally, petition and call the FCC, add action banners to their own websites, reach out to Congress via social media and learn more about what other activists and organizations are doing around the country.   

On May 15, thousands of activists, organizations and companies will participate online and off to oppose the FCC’s plan to kill the open Internet and allow rampant discrimination online.

Free Press Campaign Director Josh Levy made the following statement:

“2014 is a defining year for the future of the Internet. The drumbeat leading up to May 15th — and the day of action itself — are part of a larger grassroots campaign to protect Net Neutrality and make sure control of the Internet doesn’t fall into the hands of a few powerful corporations.

“Chairman Wheeler's pay-for-play proposal has catalyzed a nationwide movement to safeguard the open Internet. On May 15th, we’ll harness the public’s outrage and take this protest to the doorstep of the FCC. We won’t relent until the agency abandons this proposal completely and puts in place lasting protections for the open Internet.”