I was scared of losing access to my favorite sites and needing to pay more for different internet packages. I saw the memes, I saw the storms on Reddit and Twitter, and I knew I wanted to do more.

I called my reps in California, where I am registered to vote, and Congresswoman Eshoo’s staffers said that she was on my side and that she was doing everything she could to make sure the Title II regulations that keep net neutrality in place would remain stable. I called the Senators and Congresswoman Clark from MA, since I’m a resident of Cambridge, and they said basically the same thing. I knew I wanted to do more.

I work for PurplePatriot, and I used our app to try to find other ways to get involved. I knew I would need to be creative, since my reps were already on my side, so I started with their writeup of the RedHot Issues, of which Net Neutrality was one.

I found a linked bill off of that, S993, which was a senate bill in May that would deregulate the FCC’s Title II authority, basically eliminating Net Neutrality in the same way FCC Chair Ajit Pai is trying to do by Dec. 14th. According to GovTrack, the bill has less than a 2% chance of passing, but I figured that by looking at who supported this bill, I could determine who was likely to support Chairman Pai’s efforts.

I would call all of the bill’s sponsors and cosponsors, and urge them to change their stance and keep Net Neutrality as is.

PurplePatriot listed all the sponsors and cosponsors, with links to their page in the app that showed their committee assignments and a ‘Voice’ page with buttons to contact them on Facebook, Twitter, or with a phone call.

I pressed the button to call the bill’s sole sponsor, Senator Mike Lee from Utah and was connected to his DC office.

“Hi, I’m David, calling from Massachusetts. I know Senator Lee doesn’t represent me directly, but I saw that he sponsored S993 in May — I wanted to reach out to urge him to change his stance on Net Neutrality and keep the current protections.”

The staffer was very positive and helpful, and said that she would let the Senator know. I decided to ask directly how he viewed out of district calls.

“He takes them very seriously, because he knows that the policies he enacts in the Senate affect everybody, not just his constituents in Utah.”

That was a good sign — maybe calling these people would actually make a difference. I went back to the list in PurplePatriot and started calling the 11 cosponsors. I quickly started to notice some similarities: They were all Republicans from red or purple states, and many had seats on the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the committee that has jurisdiction over “legislation relating to communications” including cell phones and the internet. Since this committee has held oversight hearings on the FCC in the past, and since Net Neutrality is an issue relating directly to the internet, senators on this committee were bound to have a greater influence on the issue.

Another shared similarity was that every single staffer I spoke to said basically the same thing in regards to out of district calls: They were valued and relayed to the Senator, although of course constituent calls carried more weight. Senator Inhofe (R-OK)’s staffer said that he especially welcomed out of district calls on issues that would have a big national effect, like Net Neutrality. None of the staffers said that their office rejected out of district comments.

An hour in, I really felt like I was on the way to making a difference. I had to call a few offices more than once, but I eventually talked to a staffer in ten of twelve senators’ offices, and left a message for the only two I couldn’t reach: Senators Cornyn and Cruz from Texas. It didn’t take that much time or effort to make these calls, and I truly believe that more action like this, using platforms like PurplePatriot, is what will save Net Neutrality ahead of the December 14th decision.