John,
Any one of the Democrats running in the 2020 primary could easily restore net neutrality if they become president.
But will they? We don't really know.
A free and open net affects the lives of every American, and it needs to be a top-tier 2020 issue. But the topic has barely come up on the campaign trail—and some Democrats are acting like they're playing for Verizon and Comcast, not us.
Nearly every frontrunning candidate has taken huge checks from the cable industry, and if we don't pressure them to commit to net neutrality right now, they could easily sell us out to Big Cable down the line. Will you donate?
DONATE
Nine of out 10 adults in America depend on the Internet for work, for school, or to connect with friends and family. And the overwhelming majority support strong net neutrality rules.1
If Donald Trump loses next November, his replacement could restore those rules in an instant by replacing Ajit Pai and other FCC commissioners who work for Verizon and Comcast instead of us.
But it's not clear all of the Democratic presidential candidates are on our side.
Top contender Vice President Joe Biden kicked off his campaign with a high-dollar fundraiser hosted by a Comcast executive.2 Mayor Pete Buttigieg has left room for watered-down legislation backed by Big Cable. Sen. Amy Klobuchar wants to “encourage”—rather than require—ISPs to adhere to net neutrality.3
Others have said before they support strong Title II FCC rules that stop cable companies from blocking and throttling websites and apps—but none of them ever bring it up on a national stage. Debate moderators—whose networks are owned by the big ISPs—haven't asked a single question about it.
We only won strong net neutrality rules under the Obama administration because of massive public pressure. That's why we must start the drumbeat now by ramping up our campaign to bring up net neutrality at every town hall and rally, insist the issue get airtime in the next debate, and demand that the eventual nominee commit 100% to open Internet rules.
Eighty percent of Americans support open Internet rules, so we're demanding the Democratic presidential candidates commit right now to net neutrality. Will you chip in?
For the Internet,
Evan at Fight for the Future
Footnotes:
1. Pew Research Center: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/internet-broadband/
2. HuffPost: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-biden-2020-campaign-lobbyist-money_n_5cc111dce4b0764d31dc8586
3. The Daily Dot: https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/net-neutrality-2020-democrats-fcc/
Fight for the Future works to protect your rights in the digital age.
