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We Can Get The FCC's Decision To Kill Net Neutrality Overturned. Here's How.
This fight isn’t over.
Dec 15, 2017
The FCC voted Thursday to repeal all existing net neutrality protections. They are giving giant ISPs like Verizon and Comcast the power to control what we can see and do online with new fees, throttling, and censorship. This will ruin the fundamentally open nature of the internet. This fight isn't over though, there is still a clear path to victory.
The organizations behind Battle For The Net are launching a new campaign to demand that Congress step in and restore net neutrality via the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The CRA lets elected officials in Congress overrule actions taken by Federal agencies like the FCC. And it's different from a normal bill because it only requires a simple majority in the Senate and House to pass.
There's some poetic justice in it, since it's the same procedure that ISP-backed lawmakers used to gut Internet privacy protections earlier this year.
Given the level of public backlash and polls showing that 83% of voters from across the political spectrum oppose the FCC's plan, and given that several Republicans have already started to publicly criticize the FCC vote, we have a real chance to making this happen.
But it won't be easy, and it can only happen within 60 legislative days of the order going into effect.
Here's what everyone can do right now:
1. Text "BATTLE" to +1 424-363-4877 or go toBattleForTheNet.com to easily send a message to your lawmakers.
2. Share this article widely so everyone knows there is a way we can still win.
3. Use these tools to change your profile pic and help sound the alarm.
We can still win this. Even if you've already contacted your reps, now is the time to call them again. We need all hands on deck. Please, take a moment and make the call, then spread the word.
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.
Evan Greer
Evan Greer is the campaign director of Fight for the Future, a digital rights nonprofit known for organizing massive online protests to defend free expression on the Internet. She's a transgender parent, organizes a monthly queer dance party and travels internationally as a political musician, speaker, and workshop facilitator. Follow her on Twitter: @evan_greer
The FCC voted Thursday to repeal all existing net neutrality protections. They are giving giant ISPs like Verizon and Comcast the power to control what we can see and do online with new fees, throttling, and censorship. This will ruin the fundamentally open nature of the internet. This fight isn't over though, there is still a clear path to victory.
The organizations behind Battle For The Net are launching a new campaign to demand that Congress step in and restore net neutrality via the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The CRA lets elected officials in Congress overrule actions taken by Federal agencies like the FCC. And it's different from a normal bill because it only requires a simple majority in the Senate and House to pass.
There's some poetic justice in it, since it's the same procedure that ISP-backed lawmakers used to gut Internet privacy protections earlier this year.
Given the level of public backlash and polls showing that 83% of voters from across the political spectrum oppose the FCC's plan, and given that several Republicans have already started to publicly criticize the FCC vote, we have a real chance to making this happen.
But it won't be easy, and it can only happen within 60 legislative days of the order going into effect.
Here's what everyone can do right now:
1. Text "BATTLE" to +1 424-363-4877 or go toBattleForTheNet.com to easily send a message to your lawmakers.
2. Share this article widely so everyone knows there is a way we can still win.
3. Use these tools to change your profile pic and help sound the alarm.
We can still win this. Even if you've already contacted your reps, now is the time to call them again. We need all hands on deck. Please, take a moment and make the call, then spread the word.
Evan Greer
Evan Greer is the campaign director of Fight for the Future, a digital rights nonprofit known for organizing massive online protests to defend free expression on the Internet. She's a transgender parent, organizes a monthly queer dance party and travels internationally as a political musician, speaker, and workshop facilitator. Follow her on Twitter: @evan_greer
The FCC voted Thursday to repeal all existing net neutrality protections. They are giving giant ISPs like Verizon and Comcast the power to control what we can see and do online with new fees, throttling, and censorship. This will ruin the fundamentally open nature of the internet. This fight isn't over though, there is still a clear path to victory.
The organizations behind Battle For The Net are launching a new campaign to demand that Congress step in and restore net neutrality via the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The CRA lets elected officials in Congress overrule actions taken by Federal agencies like the FCC. And it's different from a normal bill because it only requires a simple majority in the Senate and House to pass.
There's some poetic justice in it, since it's the same procedure that ISP-backed lawmakers used to gut Internet privacy protections earlier this year.
Given the level of public backlash and polls showing that 83% of voters from across the political spectrum oppose the FCC's plan, and given that several Republicans have already started to publicly criticize the FCC vote, we have a real chance to making this happen.
But it won't be easy, and it can only happen within 60 legislative days of the order going into effect.
Here's what everyone can do right now:
1. Text "BATTLE" to +1 424-363-4877 or go toBattleForTheNet.com to easily send a message to your lawmakers.
2. Share this article widely so everyone knows there is a way we can still win.
3. Use these tools to change your profile pic and help sound the alarm.
We can still win this. Even if you've already contacted your reps, now is the time to call them again. We need all hands on deck. Please, take a moment and make the call, then spread the word.
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