John,
2022 is a landmark year for Fight for the Future. Visit our new homepage and watch our 10th Anniversary mini-documentary to see where we came from, where we are, and where we're headed.
Ten years ago, ❤️ Fight was born in a moment of crisis for the Internet. Two censorship bills disguised as copyright enforcement, SOPA/PIPA, were assumed to be unstoppable. It looked like the Internet was doomed. But a small group of activists, including our founders, organized Internet Blackout Day.
Internet Blackout Day involved over 100,000 websites,1 including Google, Reddit, WordPress, Tumblr, and Wikipedia. The action resulted in 14 million people contacting Congress, including 8 millions calls in 72 hours, and millions more tweeting and signing petitions.2 Despite the millions of dollars spent on lobbying by the MPAA and RIAA, the bills were shelved and never brought to a floor vote again. The internet won.3
We were just a few scrappy organizers, but the Internet had created a powerful opening for activism, which enabled a diverse coalition of advocacy organizations, businesses, websites, and everyday Internet users to take on one of the most powerful political lobbies in the U.S. In the words of ❤️ Fight co-founder Tiffiniy Cheng, “the Internet made it possible for a few people to play an outsized role in quickly catalyzing disparate voices into a large opposition.”
A decade later, we’ve kept up the fight and, thanks to supporters like you, we've organized and led dozens4 of impactful campaigns.5 Today, we’re excited to announce the launch our anniversary celebration, beginning with a mini-documentary featuring Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, founding and former Media Justice Executive Director Malkia Cyril, digital rights activist Cory Doctorow, Senator Ron Wyden, Senator Richard Blumenthal, EFF Executive Director Cindy Cohn, and many of our other partners and allies who we have worked with over the years.
Check out our new homepage and watch our 10th Anniversary mini-documentary to get inspired about what the future could look like when we work together to make technology a force for liberation rather than oppression.
With gratitude and grit,
Sarah & the Team at ❤️ Fight
P.S. Make sure to sign up to get updates on our 10th Anniversary events!
1. New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/technology/public-outcry-over-antipiracy-bills-began-as-grass-roots-grumbling.html
2. New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/21/technology/senate-postpones-piracy-vote.html
3. Tech Dirt: https://www.techdirt.com/2022/01/18/how-sopa-blackout-happened/
4. Fight for the Future: fightforthefuture.org/projects
5. Fight for the Future: fightforthefuture.org/about/timeline
Fight for the Future works to protect your rights in the digital age.
