Help Save Net Neutrality: Send a Comment to the FCC
On May 18, Trump’s FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, put in motion his plan to gut Net Neutrality. The current FCC rules prevent internet service providers from blocking content and speech online — and from relegating some sites to a slow lane while charging more for access to others.
To save the internet, we need millions of people to speak out on the record. Send a comment to the FCC today and join the fight to protect real Net Neutrality.
The most effective comments are the ones that are personal and reference the facts. You know why the internet and Net Neutrality are so important to you — tell the FCC why in your own words.
To get you started, here’s some background you can consider when drafting your comment:
Pai’s proposal to undo Title II would destroy Net Neutrality. One of Pai’s main goals is removing Title II of the Communications Act as the basis for any Net Neutrality rules. Title II treats ISPs like the telecommunications carriers they are. The previous FCC correctly put broadband-internet access back under Title II, because that law provides the solid foundation required for real Net Neutrality rules against blocking and discrimination.1 Before returning to Title II, the FCC lost in court in its two prior attempts to adopt Net Neutrality protections. The FCC simply can’t have strong Net Neutrality rules in place without Title II.
We need enforceable rules to protect the open internet. Pai’s proposal doesn’t stop at destroying the legal foundation for Net Neutrality. It suggests getting rid of the rules altogether. Internet service providers like Comcast aren’t going to regulate themselves — Pai’s suggestion that ISPs might simply agree to comply with Net Neutrality principles is laughable. Our access to the internet, the greatest communication tool of this century, shouldn’t depend solely on the whims of a corporation.
Destroying Net Neutrality harms people and businesses and allows cable and phone companies to rip us off. Pai is aligned with the Trump administration and with giant corporations, like Verizon, where he worked before being appointed to the FCC. He’s been spreading misinformation about Net Neutrality and Title II since his earliest days as commissioner, constantly repeating debunked talking points and lies about the impact these rules have on ISP investment.
The loss of Net Neutrality would disproportionately impact vulnerable communities. People of color, immigrants, Muslims and LGBTQ communities are under siege by the Trump administration, and online organizing is one of the most effective ways to fight back. But without real Net Neutrality, ISPs would be able to control what we see and say on the internet. The future of online activism relies on our ability to safeguard Net Neutrality under Title II.
Tell Ajit Pai, Trump and their corporate friends to get their hands off your internet freedom: Leave the FCC’s Net Neutrality rules alone.
We'll make sure your comments are filed into the FCC docket.
1. “Net Neutrality: What You Need to Know Now,” Free Press: https://www.savetheinternet.com/net-neutrality-what-you-need-know-now