The Next Stage of the Net Neutrality Fight has Begun

Polls show widespread support for net neutrality making The FCC’s net neutrality rules run counter to the national consensus. If members of Congress want support from Internet users, they need to reverse the FCC’s rule.

Kevin Zeese
Margaret Flowers
By Kevin Zeese
And Margaret Flowers
Sammi LeMaster helps to dismantle a large alarm clock display that reads "Net Neutrality Wake Up Call" from the stage after a protest at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Washington, Dec. 14, 2017, where the FCC met to vote on net neutrality. (AP/Carolyn Kaster)

On Thursday, the FCC’s net neutrality rule was published in the Federal Register. This was the official start of the next phase of the campaign to protect the open Internet as a common carrier with equal access for all and without prejudice based on content (net neutrality). There are multiple fronts of struggle to make net neutrality a reality:

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Google Maybe Partnering With Brazil’s Government to Influence Public Opinion

Members of Brazil’s President Michel Temer’s administration met with Google representatives to discuss the viability of directing users’ queries to official content produced by the government.

Netizen Report
By Netizen Report
A demonstrator carries a statue in the likeness of Brazil's president Michel Temer during a protest against Brazil's president Michel Temer at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 28, 2017. People gathered on Copacabana beach ahead of a concert by Brazilian musical performers calling for new presidential elections while pressure mounts on the country's leader to resign amid corruption allegations. (AP/Leo Correa)

A January 12 article on the website of O Globo, one of Brazil’s most widely read daily newspapers, alleges that Brazil's government is seeking to work with Google to customize search results for Brazilian users, based on their location and possibly other characteristics. According to the O Globo article, which did not name its sources, the

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Google, Facebook, Twitter Clamor for an “Open Net” While Gearing Up Their Censorship Divisions

Internet content is neither “open” nor “equal” when Facebook, Twitter, and Google themselves are guilty of censoring or throttling information and material on their platforms, at will and with zero accountability to users.

Dr. Michael Nevradakis
By Dr. Michael Nevradakis
Facebook's Secret Censorship Rules Protect White Men From Hate Speech But Not Black Children

SCHOHARIE COUNTY, NEW YORK (Analysis) – In a conversation I overheard recently, one of many such discussions that are being waged nowadays, the topic was professional basketball player Enes Kanter, a member of the NBA’s New York Knicks and a native of Turkey. Kanter, an outspoken critic of the increasingly autocratic Turkish President Tayyip

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Minnesota To Sue FCC As Outrage Against Net Neutrality Repeal Soars

“Net neutrality is essential for consumers and an informed electorate,” Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson wrote in an email. “This isn’t just a consumer protection issue—it’s a democracy protection issue too.”

Jake Johnson
By Jake Johnson
f Global Call to FCC to Preserve Net Neutrality

Joining the large coalition of states and advocacy groups preparing to take legal action against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over its newly passed net neutrality repeal plan, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson announced in an email to supporters on Tuesday that she will take part in a multistate suit against the

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While US Attacks Net Neutrality, UK Makes High-Speed Internet ‘Legal Right’

Rejecting major telecom company’s offer to voluntarily expand in rural regions, UK government says speedy broadband service now mandatory nationwide by 2020.

Jessica Corbett
By Jessica Corbett
Raul Jimenez Algobia

While last week the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rolled back net neutrality rules that allowed the internet to be regulated as a public utility, the United Kingdom announced Wednesday that by 2020, high-speed internet will be a legal right for all British households and businesses. Rejecting an offer from the British

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Big Media and Big Money in 2017: from Disney/Murdoch to Net Neutrality

Last week’s events have shown that the new digital media landscape is every bit as monopolistic as the old one. And what’s Murdoch up to now?

Des Freedman
By Des Freedman
FILE- In this Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017 file photo, Rupert Murdoch waits for the start of the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York. (AP/Julio Cortez)

Analysis -- Two seminal events that took place last week – the FCC’s vote to scrap net neutrality rules and Rupert Murdoch’s sale of vast chunks of his empire to Disney – are a stark reminder of what really matters in the contemporary media economy: size and influence. The Trump-era Federal Communications Commission has eagerly succumbed to a

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