The Internet Slowdown is coming, and it’s going to be huge.

Hey there,

Exciting news! The Internet Slowdown net neutrality protest planned for September 10th is really taking off. This morning, a dozen of the world’s largest websites announced that they’re joining in a big way. Sites you know and love like Etsy, Kickstarter, WordPress, Vimeo, Mozilla, Namecheap, Foursquare, imgur, and reddit.

Will you join too?

Everyone has a role in the Internet Slowdown. Click here to find out what YOU can do.

Oh, but that’s not all that happened this morning. Just a few hours ago I got a phone call from a number in Washington, DC. The person on the other end tried to ask some questions without identifying themselves, but when I asked outright they told me they were from NCTA – yep, as in the National Cable Television Association, aka Comcast’s lobbying army.

 They wanted to know when we would be announcing the names of the companies participating in the September 10th net neutrality protest. I suggested they take a look at the front page of The Guardian, or at this op-ed by the CEO of Etsy in Wired, and mentioned they may want to check out this TIME Magazine article. Then I hung up.

After the call, I couldn’t stop smiling. I’ve been organizing for many years and one thing I’ve learned is that powerful enemies only start contacting you when they’re scared. If they don’t think you’re being effective, they ignore you.

Friends, we are giving some of the most powerful interests in the world a run for their money. And they have tons of money. We’ve got Comcast & company shaken up and scared. This is our chance to to drive the message home and win this once and for all.

All the tools you need for the battle are here: https://battleforthenet.com/sept10th

If you’ve got a website, blog, or Tumblr run the “slowdown” widget on your site to symbolically show your users a “loading” message and help people understand what the Web could be like without net neutrality. If you don’t have a site, change your profile pic to the “loading” symbol, so that the entire Internet is alive with protest on September 10th, and forward this email to everyone you know to spread the word.

The truth is, unlike Comcast and their cronies, we have nothing to hide. A report from the Sunlight Foundation yesterday showed that 99% of comments the FCC has received are in support of net neutrality. The public agrees, and hell hath no fury like the Internet scorned. As I write this email, I’m feeling more hopeful about our chances of victory in the battle for net neutrality than I have since we started this fight.

Last chance. We need you for the Internet Slowdown on September 10th. Are you in?

We can win this, and when we do, it’s a victory we can put in the history books.

For the Internet,
-Evan Greer at Fight for the Future

P.S. Our friends at Namecheap are really throwing down in the fight for net neutrality. Check out the awesome video they just put up at NetNeutrality.com (nice URL right?), wait til you get to the part where people are riding on toilets chasing wall street bankers up a bike ramp.

P.P.S. There’s still time to get your very own #TeamInternet t-shirt or hoodie. Go here and reserve yours before they’re gone! http://teespring.com/stores/team-internet