Today, July 12th, 2017 is a special day. Browsing around the internet you may have noticed that many websites have messaging directing you to leave comments about net neutrality with FCC. This coordinated day of action is thanks to Fight for the Future, Demand Progress, and Free Press. The FCC has been receiving millions of comments about net neutrality since the FCC Commissioner, Ajit Pai, revealed plans to gut 2015 net neutrality rules improperly titled “Restoring Internet Freedom” earlier this year. Today’s day of action will mobilize the Internet’s powerful voice and let the FCC know that net neutrality is here to stay.

For months now, the internet has been rallying for the purpose of defeating this action and defending the open internet. The same passionate group of tech activists and companies that have rallied the internet in the past to defeat SOPA and PIPA and execute Internet Blackouts is at it again! The Internet Defense League’s cat signal was shown by Private Internet Access in the New York Times – and the country answered in force.

Net Neutrality is imperative to an open internet and free speech

Net neutrality principles state that all data should be treated equally – as has been promised in Canada. If net neutrality is defeated in the United States, it will set the entire world’s internet on a path towards censorship and gatekeepers. Fight for the Future provided a list of the eleven worst things that could happen if net neutrality disappears – in relatable form:

Slow video streaming sites, causing your videos start and stop unexpectedly. Add you new fees to your Internet bill. Imagine paying extra for YouTube! Censor videos or content they don’t agree with, like political blogs. Throttle any new sites or apps they don’t own or invest in. Make your connection painfully slow, and charge you more to make it work again. Force streaming sites like Spotify into a slow lane, causing them to buffer constantly. Slow online gaming. Call of Duty would lag and glitch without paying more to your ISP. Charge big sites special “prioritization fees” and slow down everyone else. Take you out of the driver’s seat, and control what you see and hear online. Make the Internet look a lot more like cable TV. And, worst of all, become the first gatekeepers of the Internet in US history.

Today is the day – Show the world that you care about net neutrality. Visit BattlefortheNet.com and show your support.

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