Friend,

The fight for Net Neutrality is back with the introduction of the Net Neutrality and Broadband Justice Act in Congress! We’ll have much more to say soon about our strategy to build support for this legislation, which would restore the FCC’s authority to regulate broadband.

But today, I want to take a few moments to reflect on where we’ve been in the fight for Net Neutrality because what we’ve learned over the years can tell us a lot about what to expect in the weeks ahead.

This is a longer email than usual, but it’s important — so before I dive into the details, I have to ask: Can we count on your generous support to restore Net Neutrality and save the internet with a donation to Free Press Action today?

First, an overview:

In 2003, Free Press was founded to fight unchecked media consolidation, strengthen press freedom, support independent journalism and protect public media. While those priorities remain as crucial to our organization as ever, one thing quickly became evident in our early years: The internet was rapidly becoming an essential service for communication and information.

Internet service providers (ISPs) like AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon saw the writing on the wall and kept trying to interfere with how people accessed and used the internet.¹ The principle of “Net Neutrality” was born — bringing into focus the need to stop ISPs from speeding up, slowing down or blocking any content, applications or websites folks want to use.

A few years later, Free Press launched Save the Internet, the first-ever U.S. campaign for Net Neutrality. Save the Internet united a broad and diverse coalition that eventually included millions of activists and thousands of groups that led creative actions, engaged in deep organizing and built strong relationships with open-internet champions in Congress and at the FCC.

And in 2015, our hard work paid off when the Obama-era FCC adopted comprehensive Title II Net Neutrality rules. This was the biggest win for the public in the agency’s history.

So how did we get to where we are today — a world without the Net Neutrality rules we fought so hard for?

As expected, ISPs did not take kindly to Net Neutrality rules and swiftly fought back, challenging them in federal court. The courts upheld the rules twice, but it became increasingly clear that we had to get presidential candidates in the 2016 election to commit to defending Net Neutrality.

We made a lot of waves during the election — our Internet Policy Platform was endorsed by 17 groups and influenced the Democratic Party platform. But then Trump was elected — and his FCC chairman, former Verizon lawyer Ajit Pai, vowed to repeal the Net Neutrality rules.

In December 2017 — ignoring the outcry from millions of people and hundreds of groups like ours — Pai and his Republican colleagues at the FCC overturned the rules.

The deck was stacked against us, but we didn’t give up. During the Trump era, we pushed Congress to undo the FCC’s decision and came close to succeeding. And now, with a new administration in power, we have a real chance to bring back Net Neutrality — starting with passing legislation like the Net Neutrality and Broadband Justice Act.

We’re clear-eyed about the road ahead: It will be long. Companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon are already mobilizing industry lobbyists and special-interest groups to oppose the bill. We’re also facing down midterm elections in November, which means Congress will spend more time on the campaign trail and less time on Capitol Hill.

But if we can build early momentum behind this legislation and urge Congress to make it a top priority this fall, our powerful movement for an open internet can win.

Are you with us? Help Free Press Action take on monied special interests and corporations by rushing a donation right now.

In Solidarity—

Candace, Heather and the rest of the Free Press Action team
freepress.net

P.S. Help us win back Net Neutrality and triumph over industry lobbyists: Send an emergency donation today to power our fight for a free and open internet.

1. “Net Neutrality Violations: A Brief History,” Free Press, July 9, 2021