John,
Evidence is piling up that shows the repeal of net neutrality has been a disaster.
Slower connections, bogus fees, and even threats to public safety—with none of the increased broadband investment promised by FCC chair and former Verizon lawyer Ajit Pai.1
But Ajit Pai just went to the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to sell the lie that his repeal of net neutrality is actually going great—and a lot of corporate mainstream media outlets have been backing him up all the way, repeating his lies, saying net neutrality has been repealed “without incident.”2
We cannot let Ajit Pai get away with misleading the American people into believing Big Cable’s lies. Will you chip in to help beat back Ajit Pai’s lies and make sure the public knows the truth about net neutrality?
DONATE
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai keeps claiming that the rollback of net neutrality is benefiting consumers.
That could not be further from the truth.3
At CES, Pai claimed that repealing net neutrality created faster broadband speeds and major new infrastructure investment. But multiple major studies have found the exact opposite. Even telecom industry CEOs have admitted that the new rules have not resulted in new investment in expanding broadband access.4
In fact, what we’re seeing is Big Cable testing the waters to see how much they can get away with.
- Verizon was caught throttling internet access for firefighters who were battling wildfires in California.5
- Wireless carriers, including AT&T and T-Mobile, were caught slowing down traffic for videos from streaming services like Netflix and YouTube on their networks—even though they claimed publicly that they don’t throttle or block specific sites.6
- CenturyLink blocked access to the internet for customers in Utah, who were paying for service, until they watched an ad. When they were called out, they claimed that state law required them to display the ad—a claim that was quickly proven to be false.7
- Frontier Communications even started charging a bogus new “monthly rental fee” for using routers that consumers already own.8
These are just a few of the examples of how the repeal of net neutrality has been a disaster for consumers—and the big telecom companies are just getting started.
With no cop on the beat checking their worst abuses, the internet will die a slow, painful death. That’s why we need to make sure that the public knows what’s really happening—and continue fighting in Washington, D.C., and in state capitals around the country to save the free and open internet.
Will you chip in to our campaign to combat these lies and restore net neutrality?
For the internet,
Evan at Fight for the Future
Footnotes:
1. Vice: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/kz4g9x/study-proves-the-fccs-core-justification-for-killing-net-neutrality-was-false
2. Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/articles/dont-forget-the-net-neutrality-panic-11560553157
3. Vice: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/kz4g9x/study-proves-the-fccs-core-justification-for-killing-net-neutrality-was-false
4. Vice: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/z3bxx3/ajit-pai-still-thinks-killing-net-neutrality-was-a-brilliant-idea
5. Ars Technica: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/08/verizon-throttled-fire-departments-unlimited-data-during-calif-wildfire/
6. Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2019/08/19/wireless-carriers-throttling-netflix-youtube-prime-video-according-to-study/#57376d816e3d
7. Ars Technica: https://https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/12/centurylink-blocks-internet-access-falsely-claims-state-law-required-it/
8. OneZero Medium: https://onezero.medium.com/killing-net-neutrality-was-even-worse-than-you-think-132a21aab55a
Fight for the Future works to protect your rights in the digital age.
