The Women’s Institute for Freedom of the PressWIFP Joins Net Neutrality Efforts
June 11, 2019 marked one year since the FCC’s repeal of all net neutrality protections went into effect. In the year since the repeal, there have been extremely troubling incidents of telecom giants slowing popular services like YouTube and Netflix as well as Skype, and Verizon throttling firefighters’ data in the midst of a massive wildfire.
In April, the House of Representatives passed the Save the Internet Act (HR 1644), which would restore the net neutrality protections repealed by the FCC under Chairman Ajit Pai — protections that are crucial to preventing unjust, unreasonable and discriminatory behavior by internet providers. In 2018, the Senate passed a similar measure, known as a Congressional Review Act resolution, with bipartisan support.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, however, has declared net neutrality “dead on arrival” in the Senate this year, despite the fact 86% of the public—including overwhelming majorities of Republicans, Independents and Democrats—oppose the FCC’s net neutrality repeal.
On the morning of Tuesday, June 11th, public interest advocates from Demand Progress, Free Press, Action, Fight for the Future, Consumer Reports, Public Knowledge, Common Cause, National Hispanic Media Coalition, 18MillionRising.org, PEN America and the Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press hand delivered 3.5 million pro-net neutrality public comments and petition signatures, generated by dozens of netroots groups, to Senator Mitch McConnell in DC. The delivery included petitions from StopTheFCC.net, SaveTheNetFromTrump.com, BattleForTheNet.com, CREDO Action, Consumer Reports, and Free Press Action, as well as public comments submitted to the FCC going back to the lead up to the 2017 repeal.
On the same day, 26 netroots groups launched an online coalition action, demanding Mitch McConnell allow a vote to restore net neutrality.This effort will drive tens of thousands of online actions and phone calls pressuring senators to cosponsor and demand a vote for the Save the Internet Act in the Senate. Over 100 nonprofit and public interest organizations, including WIFP, also sent a letter on June 11th to Sen. McConnell in support of the Save the Internet Act.
These activities coincided with an all-day livestream on the 11th hosted by web companies, video creators, celebrities, gamers, artists, veterans, business owners and policy experts, to draw attention to the Senate’s inaction on this issue, and to pressure Senate leadership to allow a vote to restore net neutrality. The livestream featured the petition delivery.
