Thank you for participating in the Internet Strikes Back! Please read the letter below and fill out the fields at the bottom of the page in order to add your signature. We'll deliver this letter to Congress with all of the student signatures attached at the end of February. Want to do more to show your support for net neutrality? Click here to visit the Internet Strikes Back homepage. Want to learn more about net neutrality? Click here for more information.
February _____, 2011
Dear Representative:
The below signed students support the Open Internet and oppose repeal of the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) Open Internet rules through the Congressional Review Act. Using the Congressional Review Act would eliminate the current FCC rules and would prevent the FCC from preserving the Open Internet in the future.
We rely on the open Internet for all facets of our life. As students, the Open Internet allows us to access educational resources across the globe to better inform our areas of study. An obscure library in a distant country does not need to come to an agreement with our ISP in order to be accessible to us. Neither does a national database, compiled by researchers uninterested in negotiating with Internet gatekeepers in order to make their data available online.
As job seekers, we know that the Open Internet is an unparalleled engine of job creation and growth. Many of the positions waiting for us when we leave school will exist because of the Open Internet.
As creators, we rely on the Open Internet to distribute our work and access new ideas. An Open Internet allows students to reach far beyond the confines of a university in search of creative inspiration and kindred spirits. None of that is possible if online collaboration requires permission from ISPs.
As entrepreneurs of tomorrow, we look to the Open Internet as a fertile incubator that turns good ideas into great companies. We know that disruptive ideas will never take root if incumbents are able to stifle them by starving them of access to the world.
As informed citizens participating in our democracy, we need an Open Internet to distribute news, commentary, and information about what is happening in our communities and around the world. We need that information from any and all sources, not just those blessed by the companies that happen to connect us to the Internet.
In light of all these benefits, we urge Congress not to utilize the Congressional Review Act to repeal the FCC’s framework. Repealing the FCC's Net Neutrality rules would harm us as students, as job seekers, as creators, as entrepreneurs, and as citizens. Instead, we hope that Congress will continue to work to promote policies that increase our ability to access and enjoy all of the benefits of an Open Internet.
For these reasons, we urge you to vote no on a Congressional Review Act repeal of the FCC’s Open Internet rules.
Respectfully submitted,
___________________
