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Congress can overrule the FCC vote. This is how.

The FCC just voted to gut net neutrality rules, letting Internet providers like Verizon and Comcast control what we can see and do online with new fees, throttling, and censorship. But we can still get Congress to stop this—by passing a "Resolution of Disapproval" to overturn the FCC vote. We can win. Write and call Congress now!

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If your member of Congress hasn't supported net neutrality yet, you need to make them.

Now that the FCC has voted to end net neutrality rules, only Congress can keep the rules in place. With a simple majority vote in both houses, they can use the Congressional Review Act to vote on a "Resolution of Disapproval" that overrules the FCC vote. But to do that, they need to hear from constituents. Click their faces below to Tweet them. Then, call them too. Then try to schedule a meeting.

Choose your state:

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Against net neutrality or Unknown:

What is net neutrality? Why does it matter?

Net neutrality is the principle that Internet providers like Comcast & Verizon should not control what we see and do online. In 2015, startups, Internet freedom groups, and 3.7 million commenters won strong net neutrality rules from the US Federal Communication Commission (FCC). The rules prohibit Internet providers from blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization—"fast lanes" for sites that pay, and slow lanes for everyone else.

We are Team Internet. We support net neutrality, freedom of speech.

Nearly everyone who understands and depends on the Internet supports net neutrality, whether they're startup founders, activists, gamers, politicians, investors, comedians, YouTube stars, or typical Internet users who just want their Internet to work as advertised—regardless of their political party. But don't take our word for it. Ask around, or watch some of these videos.

They are Team Cable. They want to end net neutrality, to control & tax the Internet.

Cable companies are famous for high prices and poor service. Several rank as the most hated companies in America. Now, they're lobbying the FCC and Congress to end net neutrality. Why? It's simple: if they win the power to slow sites down, they can bully any site into paying millions to escape the "slow lane." This would amount to a tax on every sector of the American economy. Every site would cost more, since they'd all have to pay big cable. Worse, it would extinguish the startups and independent voices who can't afford to pay. If we lose net neutrality, the Internet will never be the same.

Thousands of individuals and sites have protested to defend Internet freedom.

In just one day, websites large and small participated in one of the biggest online protests ever, reaching tens of millions of people, driving over 2 million comments to the FCC and over 5 million emails—and over 124,000 calls—to members of Congress. See the screenshots.

On December 7th, 2017 thousands protested across the country to stop the FCC.

The new chairman of the FCC was a top lawyer at Verizon. And now he's calling for a vote to kill net neutrality, as a gift to his former employer. So on December 7th, thousands of net neutrality supporters protested outside Verizon retail stores across the U.S. to demand that Congress stop the FCC from destroying the Internet as we know it.

Now, we must convince Congress to stop the FCC. Can you display an alert?

We need your help. Congress could come out to stop the FCC, but generating calls in every House district requires massive amounts of traffic. You can display a prominent alert on your site that shows the world what the web will look like without net neutrality—and asks your visitors to call. Click here for a demo or grab the code on GitHub. None of these will actually block, slow, or paywall your site. But, they will let your users contact their representatives in Congress without having to leave your page. They appear once per user per day and users can easily click away. Just add this line of code to your site's header:

<script src="https://widget.battleforthenet.com/widget.js" async></script>

You can use these banners and images too...

Want to go above and beyond? Visit your member of Congress.

Meeting in person with your member of Congress is by far the most high-impact thing most people can do right now. Ever since the July 12 Day of Action, we've been helping set up Team Internet meetings with members of Congress. Click here to find a Team Internet drop-in visit, scheduled meeting, or town hall near you. If you're a local business owner who could be harmed by a loss of net neutrality rules, that's even more persuasive. Be in touch.

Extra Reading

Here are some excellent articles for additional depth. They cover the issue, its political history, the struggles we've overcome, and the fight ahead in Congress and at the FCC.

Comcast May Have Found a Major Net Neutrality Loophole Wired
Verizon's mobile video won't count against data caps—but Netflix does Ars Technica
How we won (the first time around, in 2014) Battle for the net
The FCC's Net Neutrality Order Protects Internet Freedom by Restoring the Law Medium

Help catch net neutrality violations, now.

ISPs like Verizon and Spectrum already violate net neutrality rules, but it's hard to spot. OONI, part of the Tor Project, helps catch net neutrality violations and other kinds of online censorship. Can you install the app on your phone, and set it to run daily?

Sunday, December 17, 2017