Net Neutrality

Question and Answers

Q:
What is Net Neutrality?
A: Net Neutrality is the basic principle that prohibits internet service providers like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon from speeding up, slowing down or blocking any content, applications or websites you want to use. Net Neutrality is the way the internet has always worked. When left to their own devices, these companies have violated people’s basic online rights.
Q:
Didn’t we win this fight already?
A: Yes. After a decade-long battle over the future of the internet, in 2015 the FCC created the legal foundation for real Net Neutrality, giving internet users the strongest protections possible. But now the internet is in peril again: On Dec. 14, 2017, the FCC's Republican majority approved Chairman Ajit Pai's plan to gut the Net Neutrality protections.
Q:
Why is this a racial justice issue?
A: The open internet allows people of color to tell their own stories and organize for racial justice. When activists are able to turn out thousands of people in the streets at a moment’s notice, it’s because ISPs aren’t allowed to block their messages or websites. The open internet allows people of color and other vulnerable communities to bypass traditional media gatekeepers. Without Net Neutrality, ISPs could block speech and prevent dissident voices from speaking freely online. Without Net Neutrality, people of color would lose a vital platform.