On the day the FCC order ending net neutrality rules goes into effect, some of the country’s largest netroots group are launching an effort urging representatives to force a floor vote to save net neutrality
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 11, 2018
Contact: Mark Stanley, 202.681.7582, press@demandprogress.org
Today, with the FCC’s repeal of net neutrality protections set to go into effect, a coalition of major netroots groups is launching StopTheFCC.net.
StopTheFCC.net is an activism site that will drive hundreds of thousands of emails and tens of thousands of phone calls to representatives’ offices urging them to sign a discharge petition to force a floor vote on the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to restore net neutrality.
The FCC’s repeal of net neutrality is massively unpopular among the public, with a recent University of Maryland poll showing 86% of voters—including an overwhelming majority of both Democrats and Republicans—oppose the FCC’s move to end protections.
After an intense groundswell of grassroots opposition to the FCC’s repeal in December, including millions of emails and phone calls to Congress and hundreds of protests across the country, a bipartisan majority in the Senate took a historic 52-47 vote to overturn the FCC using the Congressional Review Act. The CRA resolution has now moved to the House, where a discharge petition forcing the resolution to a floor vote needs the backing of a simple majority, or 218 members, to succeed. The discharge has already been signed by 170 representatives.
Activists will apply pressure to members in the coming weeks until they side with their constituents and sign the discharge petition to force a vote and pass the resolution to restore net neutrality.
“The grassroots are demanding action from Congress on this issue,” said Mark Stanley, Director of Communications for Demand Progress. “The FCC’s vote to repeal net neutrality, which will leave the public without protections against ISP blocking, throttling and the creation of internet slow lanes, is intensely unpopular. People rightly view it as a massive giveaway to the country’s largest telecoms, at the expense of everyone else. The public is paying close attention, and they’re not going to let up pressure until their members of Congress have signed on to force a vote on the resolution to overturn the FCC.”
“Eliminating Net Neutrality is the most hostile action against consumers that the FCC has ever taken. And it’s a body blow to free speech and our very democracy,” said Michael Copps, former FCC Commissioner and Special Adviser for Common Cause’s Media and Democracy Reform Initiative.
“Net neutrality is critical to empowering people against corporate polluters,” said Liz Butler, Vice President of Organizing and Strategic Alliances at Friends of the Earth. “We cannot hand over the free and open Internet to companies that will sell it to the highest bidder, and let them flood the airwaves with false stories about climate change, pro-pesticide puff pieces, and the benefits of destroying the EPA. Fair, open, and affordable use of the Internet is a right of the public that the FCC must protect.”
“Most Americans want a political revolution that will free our democracy from the corrupting grip of big money,” said Richard (RJ) Eskow, host of the Zero Hour radio and television program. “But a political revolution will prove difficult, if not impossible, without a media revolution that ensures all Americans have access to the truth. We must protect the free and fair exchange of ideas and information on the internet, without allowing corporate power to throttle the voices that are working everyday to bring knowledge to the American people.”
“Make no mistake — people’s ability to receive and share news, information and content is under direct threat. The threat to net neutrality is a threat to free speech and democracy itself. Corporations cannot be allowed to choke off the Internet for their own profit. The public must make its voice heard now — while it still can,” said Christopher Herrera, Communications Director for Rainforest Action Network.
“Saving net neutrality is a non-partisan issue that impacts all aspects of people’s daily lives — the free and open internet provides critical access to career opportunities, education resources, assistive technology, business management tools, and much, much more. The repeal of net neutrality will not only impact internet speeds and access to content, but it will also harm a critical tool to protect democracy and empower communities,” said Olivia Alperstein, Deputy Director of Communications and Policy for Progressive Congress Action Fund.
“Whatever anyone cares about most, an open internet needs to be what we care about second-most or we’ll have one hand tied behind our backs for the rest of the struggle from this point on,” said David Swanson, Campaign Coordinator for RootsAction.org.
Groups participating in the effort are:
- 18 Million Rising
- American Family Voices
- California League of Conservation Voters
- Center for Media Justice
- Center for Popular Democracy Action
- Climate Hawks Vote
- Color of Change
- Common Cause
- Common Dreams
- Corporate Accountability
- Daily Kos
- Demand Progress
- Democracy for America
- Food & Water Action
- Free Press Action Fund
- Friends of the Earth
- Greenpeace
- Just Foreign Policy
- LoveArmy
- Media Alliance
- Media Mobilizing Project
- Oakland Privacy
- OpenMedia
- People For the American Way
- People’s Action
- Presente Action
- Progress America
- Progressive Congress Action Fund
- Rainforest Action Network
- RootsAction.org
- SumOfUs
- The Nation
- The Zero Hour
- Watchdog.net
- Win Without War
- Working Families Party
###