SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
'Property of Verizon' Projected on FCC Headquarters Ahead of Vote to Destroy Net Neutrality
Activists draw attention to the corporate interests at play behind the proposal by FCC chairman Aijit Pai, a former lobbyist who worked for the telecom giant
Dec 13, 2017
Ahead of a crucial vote that threatens the future of the Internet "as we know it" at the Federal Communications Commission scheduled for Thursday, defenders of net neutrality overnight went to the commission's headquarters in Washington, DC where they projected various messages--including "Property of Verizon"--on the building to draw attention to the corporate interests at play behind the proposal by FCC chairman Aijit Pai, a former lobbyist who worked for the telecom giant.
\u201c#NetNeutrality activists projected messages on the facade of the @FCC last night. This one was disturbingly spot on:\u201d— Tim Karr (@TimKarr@mastodon.social) (@Tim Karr (@TimKarr@mastodon.social)) 1513169213
Just last week, Pai was the keynote speaker at a corporate forum held at Verizon headquarters and earlier this week he reportedly joked at a dinner event about "being a puppet" for his former employer.
While Pai has tried to characterize net neutrality--a concept that is foundational and essential if the Internet is to remain a digital bastion of free-flowing ideas and information unencumbered by corporate manipulation and mastery--as a heavey-handed "regulatory burden" of government, that claim has been endlessly debunked and discredited.
"The FCC's rushed and technically incorrect proposed order to abolish net neutrality protections without any replacement is an imminent threat to the internet we worked so hard to create," read an open letter sent by pioneers of the Internet earlier this. "It should be stopped."
As Thursday's vote nears, defenders of the Internet from across the political spectrum and from all walks of life were letting their voices be heard online as they called on others to call their members of Congress and petition the FCC to abandon its effort to destroy net neutrality:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Ahead of a crucial vote that threatens the future of the Internet "as we know it" at the Federal Communications Commission scheduled for Thursday, defenders of net neutrality overnight went to the commission's headquarters in Washington, DC where they projected various messages--including "Property of Verizon"--on the building to draw attention to the corporate interests at play behind the proposal by FCC chairman Aijit Pai, a former lobbyist who worked for the telecom giant.
\u201c#NetNeutrality activists projected messages on the facade of the @FCC last night. This one was disturbingly spot on:\u201d— Tim Karr (@TimKarr@mastodon.social) (@Tim Karr (@TimKarr@mastodon.social)) 1513169213
Just last week, Pai was the keynote speaker at a corporate forum held at Verizon headquarters and earlier this week he reportedly joked at a dinner event about "being a puppet" for his former employer.
While Pai has tried to characterize net neutrality--a concept that is foundational and essential if the Internet is to remain a digital bastion of free-flowing ideas and information unencumbered by corporate manipulation and mastery--as a heavey-handed "regulatory burden" of government, that claim has been endlessly debunked and discredited.
"The FCC's rushed and technically incorrect proposed order to abolish net neutrality protections without any replacement is an imminent threat to the internet we worked so hard to create," read an open letter sent by pioneers of the Internet earlier this. "It should be stopped."
As Thursday's vote nears, defenders of the Internet from across the political spectrum and from all walks of life were letting their voices be heard online as they called on others to call their members of Congress and petition the FCC to abandon its effort to destroy net neutrality:
Ahead of a crucial vote that threatens the future of the Internet "as we know it" at the Federal Communications Commission scheduled for Thursday, defenders of net neutrality overnight went to the commission's headquarters in Washington, DC where they projected various messages--including "Property of Verizon"--on the building to draw attention to the corporate interests at play behind the proposal by FCC chairman Aijit Pai, a former lobbyist who worked for the telecom giant.
\u201c#NetNeutrality activists projected messages on the facade of the @FCC last night. This one was disturbingly spot on:\u201d— Tim Karr (@TimKarr@mastodon.social) (@Tim Karr (@TimKarr@mastodon.social)) 1513169213
Just last week, Pai was the keynote speaker at a corporate forum held at Verizon headquarters and earlier this week he reportedly joked at a dinner event about "being a puppet" for his former employer.
While Pai has tried to characterize net neutrality--a concept that is foundational and essential if the Internet is to remain a digital bastion of free-flowing ideas and information unencumbered by corporate manipulation and mastery--as a heavey-handed "regulatory burden" of government, that claim has been endlessly debunked and discredited.
"The FCC's rushed and technically incorrect proposed order to abolish net neutrality protections without any replacement is an imminent threat to the internet we worked so hard to create," read an open letter sent by pioneers of the Internet earlier this. "It should be stopped."
As Thursday's vote nears, defenders of the Internet from across the political spectrum and from all walks of life were letting their voices be heard online as they called on others to call their members of Congress and petition the FCC to abandon its effort to destroy net neutrality:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.