Against all odds
Dear FFTF member,
We’ve got chills as we write to you about this: we are on the brink of scoring the biggest victory in modern memory for the public and the Internet against some of the fiercest lobbies in the
world.
The
FCC Chairman just proposed rules for net neutrality, which will get
voted on February 26th – they plan on reclassifying Comcast, Verizon,
AT&T, all telecom as a… Title II. Common. Carrier… meaning we keep the Internet equal for all.
Dollar for dollar, this is the biggest win against entrenched corruption and million dollar lobbyists in recent memory. No matter what happens next, this is a watershed moment for free speech.
We can celebrate soon, but first we have to finish the fight. Will you chip in?
But,
it’s also true we still have three weeks to go before these rules get
voted on. Almost anything can happen in that time, and the details of
the rules matter so much. We know our opponents in the Cable industry
will use their exclusive access to the FCC and Congress to add loopholes
and attack the process. This
is our last moment to blow this fight out of the water and make it
crystal clear that we will not let ANY loophole or monopoly behavior gut
this historic win we’ve fought so hard for.
Can
you make an emergency donation to help ramp up a bring-it-home,
all-hands-on-deck campaign to protect free speech for decades?
There’s
no doubt this is the moment we’ve all been fighting for. The FCC vote
for net neutrality – the most important vote of the FCC’s entire
history – was a year in the making (and a decade of groundwork) and the
result of coming together around smart, strategic mobilization at the
FCC, the halls of Congress, across the political spectrum and around the
world.
But,
the Cable lobby knows exactly what they’re going to do about it and
they are unrolling their plans as we speak. We don’t know all the
details, but we
know they are putting everything they’ve got into the next three weeks
to mobilize the TV networks they own, the million dollar political lists
they’ve bought, and the politicians they gave campaign contributions to
(especially the ones who are already pushing a bill that could derail
the vote).
It
will all come down to February 26th, when the FCC votes on their rules.
We know we can beat them, but on that day we’ll either have done
everything we needed to do to win real net neutrality or we’ll lose it
for a long time.
First,
we’re going to generate a massive avalanche of public opposition to
Cable’s plans by creatively distributing a ticking vote-countdown clock
all across the web on thousands of websites and social media accounts.
We’ll generate such a determined outpouring of support for real net
neutrality rules that we’ll resoundingly save the open Internet and make
it so politically toxic for any member of Congress and any FCC
commissioner to be on the wrong side of history.
We
moved mountains to get here. A year ago when net neutrality rules were
struck down in court, Title II was off the table. We bravely came out
for it when it was scary and built campaigns so the support would
spread. No one expected us to set up camp outside the FCC offices for 10
days. And, when we created the Internet Slowdown protest and made the
spinning wheel of death the iconic emblem of Cable’s plans, and with our
partners, helped drive a historic 4 million comments, we created the
turning point for net neutrality that changed everything.
While
millions of dollars and a host of lobbyists are a stone’s throw away
from every Congressional office and FCC staffer, we defied all odds and
are winning, not on their terms of corruption and DC lobbying, but on
our own – the public banding together. Our fingerprints are all over
these rules. We know exactly how to finish the job.
Are we ready to make the FCC vote on net neutrality the biggest moment for you, me, and everyone else? Oh yes.
All
those sleepless nights. All that wrist pain. The rain and the cold
streets. All of that has been worth it. And it’s going to be worth going
through it all again over the next three weeks.
It’s
been an overwhelming years worth of work. But we’re not going to let up
now. We’ve come so far. Not long ago most people didn’t have a clue
what net neutrality even was. Now, we’re mobilized and ready. Can you
make a donation to help finish the job and save the free and open
Internet?
Please, please join us in winning!
— Tiffiniy Cheng
Fight for the Future
P.S.
This isn’t the end – it’s the beginning. 2015 will be the year that we
define the future of the Internet. We’re ready to fight but we need
help. Want to support us? Donate $20 (or more) today!