If you've been watching the news for the passed few days, or have been on the internet at all, you may have seen that the newest proposal given by Ajit Pai (Chairman of the FCC) was passed yesterday by the rest of the FCC in a two-to-three vote. It's no stretch to say that this is a major disappointment for the majority of Americans, as most were not in favor of the new policies. If you haven't heard about the regulations, and want to learn more before reading this, you can click here to read more about the subject. Pai's newly passed plan aims to repeal net neutrality, allowing internet service providers like Verizon to have greater control over what we see and do over the internet. So now that the policy has passed in the FCC, is it over? Have we lost the free internet?
Is it all over?
I and many others were extremely saddened to hear this news, and it seemed like there was no hope left for saving the internet we all know and love. But is the fight for net neutrality over? No. Definitely not. First off, the policy passed by Pai and the FCC will take at least a year to be put into full effect, so don't expect to lose all that you love about the internet tomorrow. Major policies like these take time to implement, so we still have a bit of this time to enjoy what we have. It's also expected that, even after the policy has been fully implemented, that companies like Comcast and Verizon will not immediately leap to higher charges as they are wary of the outrage that would cause. However, the prices will raise eventually, and it seems like there's nothing we can do to stop it. But, there's some important developments that could help to stop this policy in its tracks.
The "Restoring Internet Freedom" plan
About a week ago, a bill called the Save Net Neutrality Act was created by Representative Sean Patrick Maloney to block the FCC's ability to reverse net neutrality rules. If passed, it would not only keep the net neutrality rules put in place today, but also prevent the FCC from changing them in the future. Unfortunately, in the recent days the bill hasn't gone anywhere, but with some support it could begin to pick up traction. If congress votes on the bill and ultimately passes it, it would help undo the damage of the passing of the new policy through the FCC. However, it needs continued support to even be considered.
Groups suing the FCC
On top of new proposals aimed at blocking the new policies, multiple groups around the country have come out saying that they will be suing the FCC for their decision. Chief among these groups is Free Press, an advocacy group that stated, "Let us be clear: Ajit Pai will not have the last word on Net Neutrality." In addition to Free Press, New York Attorney General Eric Scheiderman stated that he also plans to sue the FCC for their poor decision. While it is unclear if these lawsuits have the momentum to really go anywhere in court, they are cause for hope.
In recent days, some states have also stated they will be joining the ongoing effort to sue the FCC, and the number keeps growing every day.
Outrage and senators speaking out
This past Tuesday (12/14/17), over 35 Senate Democrats along with 2 Independents sent a letter to Ajit Pai urging him to abandon these new policies. Additionally, Republicans such as Senator John Thune of South Dakota have been encouraging politicians from both parties to come together and make a compromise that works for everyone. Thune originally supported Pai's plan, and while he still does he states he is open to changing in the hopes of coming to a compromise.
On top of this, people around the country have been coming together and voicing their opinions about the decision on the bill, the majority being against what the FCC decided. New protests and activist groups are being formed, and the outrage against these decisions are stronger than ever. People on both party sides, Republican and Democrat are angry about this, something that doesn't happen very often. Again, this is another cause for hope.
So what next?
So what should we do, and continue to do, in preparation for these policy changes and the possible blocking of them? The most important thing to do is to stay informed. The situation is constantly changing, with new people speaking out, and new information coming in. I suggest using the app Countable (which I talked about in my last post) to stay up to date on new developments. You can also check the news for any new happenings on the issue.
What's equally important, however, is to continue what we were doing even before this policy was approved. That means sharing your opinion on the issue, letting others know about it, and getting in touch with your representatives about what you think should be done. Tell your friends and family. Get involved in new discussions with classmates or coworkers about the issue. If you want to get in touch with a representative, you have two major options: you can use Countable to send a message, video call, or voice call them directly, or you can go to battleforthenet.com to send a written message or call your representative. There is still work to be done.
Also, consider donating to an organization that fights for net neutrality. Groups like Free Press need money to continue their legal efforts against the FCC, and they can only get it from us.
Hold people accountable
Finally, we need to hold our representatives accountable for their decisions. This not only means the FCC and the president who appointed these chairmen, but also congress and their action on the issue. Congress has the power to stop this plan in its tracks, and we need to make sure that they do. But how CAN we hold them accountable? Well, if you go to battleforthenet.com, you can see a list of U.S. representatives and whether or not each one is in favor of or against the removal of net neutrality. If you want net neutrality to stay, but your representative is against it, send them a polite message, and keep their decision in mind the next time they run for office. We need to show our representatives that there are consequences for not representing the people.
Conclusion
So, the fight to preserve net neutrality is far from over. We've lost the battle, but are far from losing the war. What we need now is to keep fighting, harder than ever, to preserve what we believe is right for the internet. We can't let these policies to be unfairly ripped away from us. We can't allow internet providers to benefit while the consumers suffer under added costs and constraints. And most importantly, we can't allow important information on the issues of today to be censored by companies that pay for it to be. We need the internet to remain free so we can be informed, and make better decisions for the future. Just like fighting for the Earth, we need to fight to preserve our internet so we can get the information we need to do what is right. And we'll fight with everything we've got. The battle continues.
All credit for information used in this post goes to:
https://www.battleforthenet.com/
https://www.countable.us/
https://www.freepress.net/action/were-suing-fcc-save-net-neutrality
Images:
https://www.askmen.com/news/power_money/fcc-votes-to-kill-net-neutrality.html
http://reappropriate.co/2014/07/myinternetis-a-civil-right-and-it-must-be-free-netneutrality/
https://twitter.com/ajitpaifcc
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FCC_Declaration_of_Conformity
https://www.freepress.net/
https://twitter.com/senjohnthune
https://www.agingwithdignity.org/latest/latest-news/2016/12/01/we-must-all-be-part-of-a-culture-of-hope
https://blogs.vmware.com/networkvirtualization/2017/01/vmware-nsx-news-can-use-january-9-2017.html/
http://www.jimknaggs.com/salvationists-at-work/
http://progresscil.org/membership-outreach-1st-annual-appreciation-luncheon/donate/
https://www.battleforthenet.com/sept10th/
https://capitol-commentary.com/2017/07/06/net-neutrality-2017/
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