House Committee Approves Gutting of Net Neutrality

04/27/2006

Dear MoveOn member,

Today, a Republican-dominated House Committee caved to telecom companies like AT&T and voted to gut Net Neutrality, the Internet’s First Amendment. It’s too bad we lost the vote, but more important votes on this issue are coming—and what the big telecom companies weren’t expecting was that we’d get as many votes as we did.

Because of thousands of phone calls from people like you, some members of Congress who recently voted against Net Neutrality in sub-committee switched and voted for it in full committee!  Politicians are scared when they realize we are paying attention.

Congress needs to hear from us right away—the good guys deserve thanks, the bad guys deserve outrage, and those who weren’t on the committee need to know their constituents demand they vote for “the Markey Amendment” for Net Neutrality if it comes before the entire House of Representatives in coming weeks.

Can you call your Representative right away?

Let us know you called at:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1670&id=7416-6955279-uZSoUggibM1jkSwsUvlKQg&t=2

When you click the above link, you can check today’s vote to see if your Representative is on that committee that voted.

If they voted no on the Markey Amendment to preserve Net Neutrality, you can express your outrage and tell them you expect them to switch their vote on the House floor. If they voted yes, your encouragement will let them know they did the right thing.  If they are not on the committee, tell them you support Net Neutrality and ask how they will vote on the House floor if the Markey Amendment comes up for a vote.

Rep. Ed Markey’s amendment is the only true Network Neutrality proposal. If your member’s office says something like, “Yes, we support Network Neutrality,” it is important to insist they support Rep. Markey’s amendment. Anything else is a decoy lacking teeth and is intended to provide political cover to members of Congress who cave to big telecom companies and gut Internet freedom.

The battle has just begun, and we’ve already proved that regular people can make a difference in this fight to preserve Internet freedom

Thanks for all you do.

–Eli Pariser, Adam Green, Noah T. Winer, and the MoveOn.org Civic Action team
Wednesday, April 26th, 2006

P.S. Here is a recap of the Network Neutrality issue:

We are fighting to protect Internet freedom. Internet companies like AT&T and Verizon are spending millions lobbying Congress to gut Network Neutrality—the Internet’s First Amendment. The “Markey Amendment” would protect Net Neutrality.

Net Neutrality ensures that all speech is treated equally online so the public can view the smallest blog just as easily as the largest corporate Web site. Without Net Neutrality, Internet companies could rig the playing field—forcing websites like MoveOn and Google to pay “protection money” to work properly.

Internet freedom has made the Internet great. The idea that everyone’s site gets treated the same has led the Internet to be a revolutionary force for economic innovation, civic participation, and free speech. We’re fighting to keep this rule in place to keep the Internet great.

Get more details at http://www.SavetheInternet.com

P.P.S. Please tell your friends about our petition to Congress supporting Network Neutrality by sending them this link:

http://www.civic.moveon.org/save_the_internet/?id=7416-6955279-uZSoUggibM1jkSwsUvlKQg&t=3