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
The open internet advocacy group Fight for the Future has created a scorecard for California lawmakers in anticipation of a state Assembly vote on net neutrality, showing which members support and oppose the protections as well as how much money they've accepted from ISP's that are lobbying against a state-level bill. (Image: Fight for the Future)
With Crucial California Bill Back in Play, California Lawmakers Warned: Back Net Neutrality or "Feel Constituents' Wrath"
"California assemblymembers won't get a second chance and they need to decide immediately to either side with the public or be willing to pay the price for catering to big telecoms."
Aug 09, 2018
With the latest version of California's net neutrality bill unveiled by Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener this week, open internet defenders are prepared to publicly pressure and shame state lawmakers who plan to appease powerful internet service providers (ISPs) by voting against the proposal instead of standing with their constituents.
The advocacy group Fight for the Future urged Californians to demand that their representatives vote in favor of SB 822, which will be considered by the state Assembly's Communications and Conveyance Committee before going the Assembly votes on it later this month.
Noting that ISPs like AT&T and Comcast have poured millions of dollars into their campaign to defeat SB 822, Fight for the Future on Thursday unveiled its scorecard for California lawmakers, showing constituents where their Assembly members stand on net neutrality.
As of this writing, just 11 of the Assembly's 80 members have committed to voting for the newly-unveiled SB 822. But Fight for the Future is promising to mount billboard campaigns targeting representatives who vote against net neutrality protections.
"California assemblymembers won't get a second chance and they need to decide immediately to either side with the public or be willing to pay the price for catering to big telecoms," said Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight for the Future.
Advocates in California began fighting for state-level net neutrality protections after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by President Donald Trump-appointed chairman and former Verizon lawyer Ajit Pai, voted last December to repeal net neutrality protections, putting the panel at odds with more than 80 percent of the American public.
Fight for the Future has been fighting since before the FCC's vote to protect net neutrality, which keeps internet service providers (ISP) from giving faster service to wealthy internet companies while independent journalists, entrepreneurs, and organizers fight to reach their audiences on the internet
The group's campaign in California has already proven successful, with Assemblyman Miguel Santiago signing on as co-author of SB 822 weeks after working to gut the bill--after Fight for the Future raised $15,000 to put up a billboard in his district urging him to support net neutrality.
"The massive online outcry that led to his conversion should be a warning to the rest of the Assembly: don't mess with net neutrality unless you're prepared to feel your constituents' wrath," said Greer.
California's decision on net neutrality would have wide-reaching effects on the regulations for the entire country, setting an example for other states whose residents want comprehensive state-level protections.
"SB 822 will prevent Internet providers like AT&T and Comcast from turning the internet into a playground they control and using their monopoly power to interfere with what apps, services, websites and devices we choose to use," said Greer.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. 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. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
With the latest version of California's net neutrality bill unveiled by Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener this week, open internet defenders are prepared to publicly pressure and shame state lawmakers who plan to appease powerful internet service providers (ISPs) by voting against the proposal instead of standing with their constituents.
The advocacy group Fight for the Future urged Californians to demand that their representatives vote in favor of SB 822, which will be considered by the state Assembly's Communications and Conveyance Committee before going the Assembly votes on it later this month.
Noting that ISPs like AT&T and Comcast have poured millions of dollars into their campaign to defeat SB 822, Fight for the Future on Thursday unveiled its scorecard for California lawmakers, showing constituents where their Assembly members stand on net neutrality.
As of this writing, just 11 of the Assembly's 80 members have committed to voting for the newly-unveiled SB 822. But Fight for the Future is promising to mount billboard campaigns targeting representatives who vote against net neutrality protections.
"California assemblymembers won't get a second chance and they need to decide immediately to either side with the public or be willing to pay the price for catering to big telecoms," said Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight for the Future.
Advocates in California began fighting for state-level net neutrality protections after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by President Donald Trump-appointed chairman and former Verizon lawyer Ajit Pai, voted last December to repeal net neutrality protections, putting the panel at odds with more than 80 percent of the American public.
Fight for the Future has been fighting since before the FCC's vote to protect net neutrality, which keeps internet service providers (ISP) from giving faster service to wealthy internet companies while independent journalists, entrepreneurs, and organizers fight to reach their audiences on the internet
The group's campaign in California has already proven successful, with Assemblyman Miguel Santiago signing on as co-author of SB 822 weeks after working to gut the bill--after Fight for the Future raised $15,000 to put up a billboard in his district urging him to support net neutrality.
"The massive online outcry that led to his conversion should be a warning to the rest of the Assembly: don't mess with net neutrality unless you're prepared to feel your constituents' wrath," said Greer.
California's decision on net neutrality would have wide-reaching effects on the regulations for the entire country, setting an example for other states whose residents want comprehensive state-level protections.
"SB 822 will prevent Internet providers like AT&T and Comcast from turning the internet into a playground they control and using their monopoly power to interfere with what apps, services, websites and devices we choose to use," said Greer.
With the latest version of California's net neutrality bill unveiled by Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener this week, open internet defenders are prepared to publicly pressure and shame state lawmakers who plan to appease powerful internet service providers (ISPs) by voting against the proposal instead of standing with their constituents.
The advocacy group Fight for the Future urged Californians to demand that their representatives vote in favor of SB 822, which will be considered by the state Assembly's Communications and Conveyance Committee before going the Assembly votes on it later this month.
Noting that ISPs like AT&T and Comcast have poured millions of dollars into their campaign to defeat SB 822, Fight for the Future on Thursday unveiled its scorecard for California lawmakers, showing constituents where their Assembly members stand on net neutrality.
As of this writing, just 11 of the Assembly's 80 members have committed to voting for the newly-unveiled SB 822. But Fight for the Future is promising to mount billboard campaigns targeting representatives who vote against net neutrality protections.
"California assemblymembers won't get a second chance and they need to decide immediately to either side with the public or be willing to pay the price for catering to big telecoms," said Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight for the Future.
Advocates in California began fighting for state-level net neutrality protections after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by President Donald Trump-appointed chairman and former Verizon lawyer Ajit Pai, voted last December to repeal net neutrality protections, putting the panel at odds with more than 80 percent of the American public.
Fight for the Future has been fighting since before the FCC's vote to protect net neutrality, which keeps internet service providers (ISP) from giving faster service to wealthy internet companies while independent journalists, entrepreneurs, and organizers fight to reach their audiences on the internet
The group's campaign in California has already proven successful, with Assemblyman Miguel Santiago signing on as co-author of SB 822 weeks after working to gut the bill--after Fight for the Future raised $15,000 to put up a billboard in his district urging him to support net neutrality.
"The massive online outcry that led to his conversion should be a warning to the rest of the Assembly: don't mess with net neutrality unless you're prepared to feel your constituents' wrath," said Greer.
California's decision on net neutrality would have wide-reaching effects on the regulations for the entire country, setting an example for other states whose residents want comprehensive state-level protections.
"SB 822 will prevent Internet providers like AT&T and Comcast from turning the internet into a playground they control and using their monopoly power to interfere with what apps, services, websites and devices we choose to use," said Greer.
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.