The Senate just voted to save net neutrality
Congress, are you listening?
Voters from across the political spectrum agree they don't want their cable company to control what they see and do online. The FCC's reckless repeal has sparked an unprecedented backlash. The numbers below are only what we know about through BattleForTheNet.com and partners. These are constituents calling on lawmakers to stop the FCC and save net neutrality:
Do you run a website? Use it to join the Red Alert.
Our phone calls and emails to the Senate helped swing the vote to save net neutrality. Now we need to focus our efforts on convincing the House of Representatives to support freedom on the Internet.
If you have a website, you can display our Red Alert widget on your site that asks your visitors to contact Congress. Click here for a demo, grab the code on GitHub, or use one of these banners. The alert will appear once per user per day and users can easily click away. You can link the banners directly to this website. Add this line of code to your site's header!
<script src="https://redalert.battleforthenet.com/widget.js" async></script>
Contact Congress now to show your support for net neutrality.
Below you'll find a list of your state's senators and representatives. The ones in green support net neutrality, so let them know you appreciate their support. The ones in red need to be convinced, so let them know how important this issue is to you. We already won in the Senate. Now we must win the House, where we need over 25 Republican votes to win. So please tweet and call your house representatives
Join a protest or event in your area.
Want to make your voice heard? Check out the map below to find a protest or a meeting with a representative in your state. And if there are no events in your area, consider organizing one!
We are Team Internet. We support net neutrality and freedom of speech.
These companies and organizations have been champions of net neutrality and participated in campaigns to save it:
They are Team Cable. They want to end net neutrality, to control & tax the Internet.
Cable companies are famous for high prices and poor service. Several rank as the most hated companies in America. Now, they're lobbying the FCC and Congress to end net neutrality. Why? It's simple: if they win the power to slow sites down, they can bully any site into paying millions to escape the "slow lane." This would amount to a tax on every sector of the American economy. Every site would cost more, since they'd all have to pay big cable. Worse, it would extinguish the startups and independent voices who can't afford to pay. If we lose net neutrality, the Internet will never be the same.
Want to go above and beyond? Visit your member of Congress.
Meeting in person with your member of Congress is by far the most high-impact thing most people can do right now. Ever since the July 12 Day of Action, we've been helping set up Team Internet meetings with members of Congress. Click here to find a Team Internet drop-in visit, scheduled meeting, or town hall near you. If you're a local business owner who could be harmed by a loss of net neutrality rules, that's even more persuasive. Be in touch.
Want to use your Internet connection to help catch net neutrality violations? Get this app.
ISPs like Verizon and Spectrum already violate net neutrality rules, but it's hard to spot. OONI, part of the Tor Project, helps catch net neutrality violations and other kinds of online censorship. Can you install the app on your phone, and set it to run daily? Visit TestYourInter.net to learn more, or download the app now!
What is net neutrality? Why does it matter? Watch these videos!
Net neutrality is the principle that everyone should have fair access to websites and apps, preventing Internet providers like Comcast & Verizon from creating “fast lanes,” censoring content or throttling traffic to their competitor's products. This principle has guided the world wide web from the beginning, and has been protected by federal policy under Republican AND Democrat leadership since the early 2000s.
Unfortunately, Internet providers ignored this policy, blocking users from accessing FaceTime and forcing Netflix to pay millions to avoid having their traffic throttled. So in 2015, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted net neutrality as regulations that can't be ignored. But under new leadership, the FCC has removed these regulations, threatening to end the web as we know it.
Want to learn more? Watch these videos!
John Oliver
Comedian. (Watch this first!)
Net Neutrality
A short explanation of what's at stake.
The Congressional Review Act
And how Congress can use it to overrule the FCC and defend net neutrality.
Vimeo
Why we need net neutrality
Tay Zonday
Singer. Actor. YouTube star.
Julia Reda
Member of European Parliament.
Bernie Sanders
Senator. Former presidential candidate.
Mignon Clyburn
FCC Commissioner.
John Oliver, pt. 2
Hilarious and updated for 2017.
Tim Wu
Law professor, with Colbert at Six Flags.
College Humor
NSFW.
Fight for the Future
The Internet is under attack. This is the Battle for the Net.
Burger King
Yes, Burger King. An amazing explanation.
Extra Reading
Here are some excellent articles for additional depth. They cover the issue, its political history, the struggles we've overcome, and the fight ahead in Congress and at the FCC.
- Comcast May Have Found a Major Net Neutrality Loophole — Wired
- Verizon's mobile video won't count against data caps—but Netflix does — Ars Technica
- How we won (the first time around, in 2014) — Battle for the Net
- The FCC's Net Neutrality Order Protects Internet Freedom by Restoring the Law — Medium
- Net neutrality promotes competition in the free market — Don't Tread on the Net
Important notice RE: Delivery of emails to Congress
When you submit to Battle for the Net, you aren't just signing a petition. We actually deliver your messages directly to Congress. However, we submit them through a rate-limited API and this can cause delays. For example, after the July 12th day of action an unprecedented number of submissions created significant delays. We've since taken steps to speed up submission, but it led to some confusion when users received replies from Congress long after taking action. Also, members of Congress themselves sometimes take weeks or more to reply to constituents. So please keep in mind that there may be a delay between when you take action and when your members of Congress reply.
