Today, the FCC repealed the net neutrality rules. Once that happens, there is one thing we have to do: get Congress to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to stop the FCC order.
The CRA lets our elected officials in Congress nullify actions by Federal agencies like the FCC. Most bills need 60 votes in the Senate, but the CRA only requires a simple majority in the House and Senate.
This isn’t easy. We’ll have to apply a ton of pressure to Congress in creative ways. But with the momentum we have right now, we think we’re close.
Another Initiative: In the Senate we may be starting at 50/50. Meanwhile, 83% of voters support net neutrality[1] and the level of public outcry (we’re sure you’ve seen it too) has been just off the charts. This is winnable.
In the past few weeks, we’ve seen a few things in particular working well.
Sheer numbers of phone calls, tweets and emails generated from traffic to BattleForTheNet.com. We harnessed so much traffic from YouTubers, reddit posts, instagram celebs, big links, widgets, and modals on popular websites, games, and forums, and we turned it into massive constituent pressure on Congress. We heard again and again from staffers that the number of calls was critical in whether lawmakers’ decided to come out opposing the FCC.
Local pressure. The open Internet will live or die by this. If we can get dozens of smart, persuasive people who understand this issue walking into Congressional offices anywhere in the country, representing local businesses and professional networks, that is *very* powerful. So think about how you can build a local team to laser focus on your members of Congress, and join Team Internet.
Contact Congress - ask your elected officials to use the Congressional Review Act to stop the FCC order