Major websites like Tumblr, Reddit, Medium, and Etsy join online protest; in-person events planned in 8 key Senate states plus rally in Washington, DC
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 27, 2018
Media contact: Mark Stanley, [email protected], 202.681.7582
Today, Tuesday Feb. 27, advocates and major web platforms like Reddit, Tumblr, Etsy, and Medium are planning Operation: #OneMoreVote — a mass day of action, online and off, to secure the final vote needed to pass a resolution in the Senate to restore net neutrality rules.
Internet users, small businesses, online communities, public interest groups and popular websites will harness their reach to flood lawmakers with phone calls and emails from constituents, while high-traffic websites will help sound the alarm with prominent alerts encouraging visitors to take action.
Offline, net neutrality supporters will gather outside eight key Senate offices across the country (in Miami, Denver, Las Vegas, Columbus, New Orleans, Wichita, Salt Lake City, and Anchorage), as well as at a rally outside the Senate in Washington, DC.
The day of action is being organized by Fight for the Future, Demand Progress, and Free Press Action Fund, the groups behind BattleForTheNet.com and many of the largest online protests in history. Well-known companies like Reddit, Tumblr, Etsy, Medium, Vimeo, Imgur, Namecheap, DuckDuckGo, and Sonos have announced their participation, along with groups like ACLU, Democracy for America, MoveOn, Indivisible, Consumer Reports, and Color of Change.
The following can be attributed to Demand Progress director of communications Mark Stanley:
“One would be hard pressed to find a more unpopular policy coming out of Washington in recent years than FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s plan to gut net neutrality. Virtually the only supporters of this move are sitting in the corporate offices of the country’s largest ISPs like Verizon, where Pai was a top lawyer. The move to end net neutrality will negatively impact startups and online services that can’t afford burdensome fees to reach their customers, as well as millions of Americans who rely on the internet for work, education, entertainment and news. The immense unpopularity of the FCC’s move is reflected in an intense and mounting public backlash, including today’s day of action.
“Today an outpouring of calls from Americans of all political affiliations will reach Capitol Hill, urging lawmakers to support the CRA resolution to restore net neutrality protections. Heading into the midterms, joining the resolution to restore massively popular net neutrality rules is a golden opportunity for lawmakers to be seen as heroes by voters. Now is the time for senators and representatives to stand with their constituents, not Big Cable, by backing the resolution to restore net neutrality.”
The FCC’s resoundingly unpopular net neutrality repeal was published in the Federal Register last week, officially starting a countdown of 60 legislative days to pass a Senate resolution to reverse the order. Fifty senators have already come out in support of the CRA, which would overturn the FCC’s December 14th decision and restore net neutrality protections that are supported by more than 83% of voters from across the political spectrum. The February 27th push is laser-focused on securing the final vote needed to pass the resolution in the Senate. Advocates will also take the fight to the House of Representatives, where net neutrality supporters will campaign tirelessly to reach the 218 supporters (a simple majority) needed to force the CRA to the floor.
###