July, 12 2017, 09:30am EDT
Massive Protest for Net Neutrality Spreads Across the Internet
More than 100,000 websites, Internet users, and organizations are participating in a massive online protest against the FCC’s plan to gut protections that keep the web free from censorship, throttling, and extra fees. Largest websites on the Internet among participants.
WASHINGTON
Many of the most popular websites on the web are participating in an Internet-Wide Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality today to oppose the FCC's plan to slash Title II, the legal foundation for net neutrality rules that protect online free speech and innovation. Starting at midnight, a flood of major web platforms like Twitter, Reddit, Netflix, Spotify, Airbnb, OK Cupid, Vimeo, Pornhub, Imgur, and Soundcloud began displaying prominent protest messages to their users, encouraging them to take action by contacting the FCC and Congress through tools like BattleForTheNet.com that make it easy for Internet users to make their voices heard.
See screenshots and descriptions of how some of the early participants are protesting here: https://imgur.com/a/vYVet
Embed a video about the day of action here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIFBb3e3tFA&feature=youtu.be
"The FCC needs to listen to the public, not just lobbyists from big cable companies," said Evan Greer, campaign director of Fight for the Future, one of the leading groups behind the protest, "Today, the Internet is showing its political power. No one wants companies like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon to have control over what we can see and do online, or to have to pay them extra fees to access the content we want. The Internet is outraged by censorship and corruption, this is our moment to to defend net neutrality and fight for the future of freedom of expression."
"Lawmakers in Washington, DC need to understand that if they stand idly by and allow the FCC to gut these rules that are overwhelmingly supported by voters from across the political spectrum, they will be seen as enemies of the Internet and enemies of free speech," she added.
More than 100,000 people, sites, and organizations signed up to participate the effort ahead of the 12th, and many times that will have joined in by the end of the day.
The effort is led by many of the grassroots groups behind the largest online protests in history including the SOPA blackout and the Internet Slowdown. Media attention for online mobilizations tends to focus on the big names participating, but there is a much more interesting story: a coalition of Internet activists huddled over their laptops in coworking spaces, home offices, and coffee shops, who are the ones who came up with the idea, called for, and organized the protest, and have since been working together to lay the groundwork, build the technical tools, and create the educational resources that make it possible for large and small websites to participate in these mass days of action. It's a grassroots effort involving dozens of volunteers working together in Slack channels, outreach spreadsheets, endless email chains, organizing in online communities and forums, and an enormous amount of creativity and digital elbow grease.
Sites and apps participating include Automattic (Wordpress), Amazon, Mozilla, Netflix, Etsy, Kickstarter, Soundcloud, Dropbox, Spotify, Facebook, Google, Snapchat, Medium, Y Combinator, GitHub, Pantheon, Opera, Bittorrent Inc., Shapeways, Nextdoor, Stack Overflow, Funny Or Die, Dreamhost, and CREDO Mobile, Goldenfrog, Fark, Chess.com, Namecheap, DuckDuckGo, Checkout.com, Sonic, Ting, ProtonMail, O'Reilly Media, SlashDot, Dribble, Dischord, SourceForge, and Union Square Ventures. Organizations participating include Fight for the Future, Free Press Action Fund, Demand Progress, Center for Media Justice, EFF, Internet Association, Internet Archive, World Wide Web Foundation, Creative Commons, National Hispanic Media Coalition, Greenpeace, Common Cause, ACLU, Rock the Vote, American Library Association, Daily Kos, OpenMedia, The Nation, PCCC, MoveOn, OFA, Public Knowledge, OTI, Color of Change, MoveOn, Free Software Foundation, Internet Creators Guild, the Women's March, and many others.
Fight for the Future is a group of artists, engineers, activists, and technologists who have been behind the largest online protests in human history, channeling Internet outrage into political power to win public interest victories previously thought to be impossible. We fight for a future where technology liberates -- not oppresses -- us.
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Israel Accused of Drone Attack on 'Freedom Flotilla' Carrying Aid to Starving Gazans
"Israeli ambassadors must be summoned and answer to violations of international law, including the ongoing blockade and the bombing of our civilian vessel in international waters," said flotilla organizers.
May 02, 2025
A "Freedom Flotilla" vessel carrying humanitarian aid for starving Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip reportedly came under attack in international waters off the coast of Malta early Friday, with organizers accusing Israel of bombing the ship with armed drones.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said in a statement that drones attacked the front of its unarmed ship, the Conscience, twice, "causing a fire and a substantial breach in the hull."
"The drone strike appears to have deliberately targeted the ship's generator, leaving the crew without power and placing the vessel at great risk of sinking," the coalition said. "On board are international human rights activists on a nonviolent humanitarian mission to challenge Israel's illegal and deadly siege of Gaza, and to deliver desperately needed, life-saving aid."
"Israeli ambassadors must be summoned and answer to violations of international law, including the ongoing blockade and the bombing of our civilian vessel in international waters," the coalition added.
Huwaida Arraf, an organizer with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, wrote in an email to The Washington Post that the group suspects Israel was behind the attack but can't "confirm 100%." The Israeli government has not commented on the accusations.
"Israel has threatened us and attacked us many times before, in 2010, killing 10 of our volunteers," wrote Arraf. "It is also the primary entity interested in keep[ing] us and any aid out of Gaza."
BREAKING: At 00:23 Maltese time, a #FreedomFlotilla ship was subjected to a drone attack. The front of the vessel was targeted twice, resulting in a fire and a breach in the hull. The ship is currently located in international waters near #Malta. An #SOS distress signal was sent.
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— Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition (@freedomflotilla.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Reutersreported early Friday that "the Maltese government said the vessel and its crew were secured in the early hours of the morning after a nearby tug assisted with firefighting operations," but the outlet noted that organizers insisted the ship "was still in danger."
Climate and human rights activist Greta Thunberg told Reuters that she was in Malta at the time of the reported attack on the Conscience and that she was planning to board the vessel to support the effort to deliver aid to Gazans, who have been struggling to survive under a suffocating two-month Israeli siege and relentless bombing.
On Friday, Amnesty International again called on Israel to lift its humanitarian blockade on Gaza, saying that the Israeli government's "policy of deliberately imposing conditions of life on Palestinians in Gaza calculated to bring about their physical destruction" amounts to "an act of genocide."
The U.S.-based peace group CodePink condemned the reported drone strike in a statement Friday and expressed relief "to hear that our board member, Col. (Ret.) Ann Wright, and long-time CodePink activist Tighe Barry" were not aboard the Conscience when it was attacked.
"They are safe in Malta along with climate activist Greta Thunberg. Our concern now is for those who are onboard and pray they are rescued as soon as possible," said CodePink. "We will put out a more detailed statement once we have more information. In the meantime, we call on the Maltese government to immediately aid in the rescue of the 30 passengers who were trying to get food and supplies to the people of Gaza, who are purposely being starved to death by Israel."
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U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order calling for an end to taxpayer funding for NPR and PBS, an escalation of his dangerous assault on public media that could shutter hundreds of local stations across the country.
The president's order, which he signed behind closed doors, echoes a section of Project 2025, a far-right agenda that called for stripping public funding from NPR, PBS, and other broadcasters on the grounds that they "do not even bother to run programming that would attract conservatives."
Trump's order instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)—a private nonprofit corporation created and funded by Congress—to "cease direct funding to NPR and PBS, consistent with my administration's policy to ensure that federal funding does not support biased and partisan news coverage."
The executive order, which is expected to face legal challenges, also directs all federal agencies to "identify and terminate, to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law, any direct or indirect funding of NPR and PBS."
Craig Aaron, co-CEO of the advocacy group Free Press, said in a statement Friday that "Trump's attack on public media shows why our democracy is on life support."
"After years of attacking journalists and lying about their work, it's no surprise that Trump and his minions are trying to silence and shutter any newsroom that dares to ask him questions or show the devastating impact of his policies on local communities," said Aaron. "Yet in many of those communities, the local public-media station is the only source of independent reporting. Trump, of course, prefers fawning propaganda—which too many commercial TV and radio broadcasters are willing to provide in exchange for regulatory favors, or to stay off the president's target list."
"All of us who care about an independent press, an informed populace, a responsive government, and a thriving democracy have a stake in the outcome of this fight," he added. "If we unite to defend public media—and I believe we can and will prevail—then we might just save our democracy, too."dele'
It’s not just NPR and PBS, they’re coming to fuck with your local public radio. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
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— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce.com) May 2, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Trump's move was expected, and it came in the wake of reports that the administration intends to ask Congress to rescind previously approved funding for CPB, which is already engaged in a court fight with the president over his attempt to fire several of the organization's board members. The Associated Pressreported Thursday that the rescission request "has not yet been sent to Capitol Hill."
According to the organizations' estimates, federal funding accounts for roughly 1% of NPR's annual budget and 15% of PBS's yearly revenue.
In a letter to congressional leaders earlier this week, a coalition of civil society groups led by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) warned that, if enacted, Trump's proposed funding cuts for public broadcasting "will result in the shutdown of dozens, if not hundreds, of local, independent radio and television stations serving Americans in every corner of the country."
"As it stands, public media journalists are often the only reporters attending a school board meeting, or a local zoning hearing, or at the scene of a crime," the groups wrote. "They are the journalists most likely to hold local public officials accountable and expose
corruption. Faraway digital media outlets will not replicate this coverage, and the American public will lose out."
Trump's attack on public broadcasters is part of his administration's broader effort to undermine journalism in the United States and around the world.
RSF said in a report published Friday that Trump's "early moves in his second mandate to politicize the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), ban The Associated Press from the White House, or dismantle the U.S. Agency for Global Media, for example, have jeopardized the country's news outlets and indicate that he intends to follow through on his threats, setting up a potential crisis for American journalism."
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"This May Day we are fighting back," said organizer May Day Strong. "We are demanding a country that puts our families over their fortunes."
May 01, 2025
Hundreds of thousands of workers rallied from coast to coast Thursday to mark International Workers' Day with spirited demonstrations supporting labor rights and protesting President Donald Trump's "billionaire agenda" and attacks on the rule of law, unions, immigrants, Palestine defenders, transgender people, and others.
Rallies took place in hundreds of cities and towns across the United States in what the May Day Strong coalition, which led the day of action along with the 50501 movement and others, called "a demand for a country that invests in working families—not billionaire profits."
"Trump and his billionaire profiteers are trying to create a race to the bottom—on wages, on benefits, on dignity itself," the coalition said. "This May Day we are fighting back. We are demanding a country that puts our families over their fortunes—public schools over private profits, healthcare over hedge funds, prosperity over free market politics."
HAPPENING NOW: Hundreds of protesters march through the streets of Washington, D.C. en route to the White House for a May Day rally against Donald Trump (Video: Mariel Carbone)
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— Marco Foster (@marcofoster.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 10:06 AM
"Just one day after the 100th day of the Trump administration, families nationwide are already facing cuts to Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, and education—while billionaires reap massive tax breaks and record profits," May Day Strong added.
In Philadelphia, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was among those who addressed a crowd of thousands, many of them union workers.
"Brothers and sisters, what we are celebrating today, May Day, is in a sense a sacred holiday, and all over our country workers are coming out and demanding justice, and all over the world, in dozens of countries, workers are standing up to oligarchy and demanding a world in which all people have a decent standard of living," said Sanders, whose Fighting Oligarchy tour with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)w is drawing massive crowds, including in "red" states.
Shafeek Anderson, a hotel worker and member of Unite Here Local 274 who attended the Philadelphia rally, toldWCAU that "we're tired of everything that's going on in everyday life. We're tired of our prices going up. We're tired of the unfair treatment."
"We're tired of the inequality in life and everything else," Anderson added. "So rallies like this will absolutely help show that we mean business and we absolutely will stand on business when we need to."
In Chicago, Stacy Davis Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union—which recently won what it called a "transformative" new contract—said that "we believe in the power of common good bargaining and together, with SEIU 73 and other labor unions, we have been able to secure sanctuary protections for our students and their families."
"We resist bullies like Trump by creating coalition and leaning into the power of history and the power that Black people's freedom has paved for America in the first general strike during the Civil War," Davis Gates added. "My people believe in reconstruction, and we can do it together in solidarity and create a society that works for everyone."
Boise stands up for workers, for each other, for our humanity, for our democracy...Courage is contagious! May Day Strong!
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— Indivisible Boise Chapter One (@indivisibleboise.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 1:18 PM
The detainment and disappearance of students and workers without due process is an attack on every one of us in the streets today, and those of you at home. We won't be ignored. Los Angeles won't back down. #WeMakeAmericaWork #MayDay #InternationalWorkersDay
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— California Fast Food Workers Union (@cafastfoodunion.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 9:58 AM
The May Day Strong coalition is demanding:
- An end to the billionaire takeover and government corruption;
- Full funding for public schools, healthcare, and housing;
- Protection and expansion of Medicaid, Social Security, and other essential programs;
- A halt to attacks on immigrants, Black, Indigenous, trans, and other targeted communities; and
- Strong union protections, fair wages, and dignity for all workers.
"This is a war on working people—and we will not stand down," said May Day Strong. "They're defunding our schools, privatizing public services, attacking unions, and targeting immigrant families with fear and violence. Working people built this nation, and we know how to take care of each other."
HAPPENING NOW: A HUGE crowd of protesters march through the streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin for a May Day protest against Donald Trump
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— Marco Foster (@marcofoster.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 10:36 AM
HAPPENING NOW: Thousands of protesters are at the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix for a May Day rally against Donald Trump (Video: Colton Krolak)
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— Marco Foster (@marcofoster.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 10:20 AM
"We won't back down—we will never stop fighting for our families and the rights and freedoms that propel opportunity and a better life for all Americans," the coalition added. "Their time is up."
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