Friend, earlier this month, champions for an open internet like you — and internet users everywhere — experienced a setback when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit put the FCC's Net Neutrality rules on ice in response to an industry lawsuit.

There's no sugarcoating it: This decision stings, but it follows a familiar pattern — as soon as the FCC adopts Net Neutrality rules, industry players like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon sue to overturn them.

But here's the good news: We have the policy experience to take these companies on. And we will.

We're launching the Free Press Legal Fund to sustain a full slate of important legal and policy work on the horizon this fall. Will you make your first gift by the end of the month to help us hit our goal of securing 100 donations?

Big cable and phone companies shouldn't be able to choose what we can say or see online. Public support for Net Neutrality is overwhelming, and that's why we filed a motion to intervene in support of the FCC. We want to do everything we can to defend the rules and protect the agency's Title II authority to hold companies like Comcast accountable.¹

The Sixth Circuit will fully evaluate the arguments from the FCC and the ISPs this fall. The industry's case relies, as it always has, on false claims that Net Neutrality and Title II hamper investment.

We're confident that we will ultimately prevail in this case, despite this disappointing outcome and despite recent Supreme Court decisions to weaken federal agencies' oversight — because this FCC decision to restore Net Neutrality followed the law, plain and simple.

But to make our best case for defending an open internet, grassroots support from people like you is necessary — now more than ever.

Donate to the Free Press Legal Fund now to help ramp up our advocacy in court for Net Neutrality. Your gift will also support our efforts to challenge a law banning TikTok and defend the FCC's essential media-ownership rules.

Thank you for your support at this critical time,

Heather

1. “Public-Interest Groups Intervene to Defend Net Neutrality Rules,” Free Press, June 26, 2024