John,

Wow. So Politico is reporting that a top staffer for the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee is leaving to work as a lobbyist for Verizon.¹

Another staffer from the Senate Commerce telecom subcommittee just took a job at Facebook.²

For too long there has been a revolving door between Washington, DC and powerful industries like Big Tech and Big Telecom––and the result is that giant corporations get their way, even when their actions threaten democracy and our most basic rights.

This is exactly why Fight for the Future exists. We work every single day to make sure that ordinary people can make our voices heard in Washington, DC. But our work is only possible thanks to small donations from people just like you. Will you chip in $10 / month to support our ongoing work to fight corruption and defend your basic rights in the digital age?

Yes, I’ll become a monthly donor!

Sorry, I can’t donate monthly, but I’ll make a one time donation.

Tech and telecom giants like Amazon, Comcast, Facebook, and Verizon are spending more money on lobbying and campaign contributions than ever before in history—and even more than Exxon or Phillip Morris.³

Here at Fight for the Future, we build the messaging and tech tools that let us fight back against the corrupting influence of industry lobbyists, donations to candidates (cough—bribes—cough), and well-funded PR campaigns, and win victories for human rights and the public interest. Since we were founded in 2011, we’ve:

Organized the largest online protests in human history to stop SOPA/PIPA, legislation that could have led to widespread internet censorship.
Helped win the strongest net neutrality protections in the world, and sparked massive backlash when they were repealed. Now we’re closer than ever before to winning them back, and gearing up to fight for the strongest rules possible.
Led the charge against invasive and discriminatory surveillance technologies like facial recognition, helping secure bans in dozens of cities, and prompting dozens of major music festivals, universities, and retail stores to back away from invasive surveillance tech.
Helped millions of people call and email their elected officials through our easy-to-use activism tools, fighting for everything from online freedom of expression to strong data privacy legislation to the #DontKillCrypto amendment.

Giant corporations have almost limitless resources to spend buying power and influence in Washington, DC. And when they’re getting worried about legislation cutting into their profits, they often just hire the staffers out from under the lawmakers who are supposed to be overseeing them. It’s blatant corruption that we’ve been taught to accept as normal.

We at Fight for the Future refuse to give up. We’re going toe to toe with some of the most powerful industry lobbyists in the world, and we’re winning victories for your digital rights. Click here to become a monthly donor and keep us fighting corruption every day.

DONATE

Let’s smash the revolving door,

-Evan at Fight for the Future

Footnotes:

1. Politico: https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-tech/2021/09/20/senate-commerce-faces-brain-drain-797702

2. Politico: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/09/09/facebook-john-branscome-democrat-lobbying-511039

3. Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-and-amazon-are-countrys-top-lobbying-spenders-report-2021-3

Fight for the Future works to protect your rights in the digital age.