Shortly after ALCTS News published “Three Things ALCTS Members Can Do to Advocate for Net Neutrality,” the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) voted to repeal Net Neutrality in a 3-2 party-line vote. Since that time, technology companies, consumer advocacy groups, and officials from both legislative and judicial branches at the state and federal levels have taken steps to fight back.
- Responding to public outrage, lawmakers in California, New York, and several other states are introducing local legislation to impose net neutrality restrictions on communications companies in those states. Polls have indicated that more than 75% of Americans are in favor of net neutrality.
- More than 50 senators have signed onto a resolution to reverse the FCC decision, introduced by Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey. Support of the resolution in the House is not as strong, however, and such a resolution would likely be vetoed by the President.
- Attorneys General from over 20 states petitioned in federal court to stop the repeal.
- New America’s Open Technology Institute, the Mozilla Corporation, and Public Knowledge petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to challenge the repeal.
- The Free Press petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
- The Internet Association, the lobbying group that represents Amazon, Netflix, and Google, is participating in the lawsuits.
What can you do to continue to advocate for protections to net neutrality?
1. Inform yourself on the issue.
As Sarah Hovde reported earlier in ALCTS News, to learn more about the effect net neutrality’s gutting would have on libraries and the communities we serve, read ALA’s advocacy primer on net neutrality. In two recent District Dispactch posts, the Washington Office has also produced an in-depth analysis of the Restoring Internet Freedom Order and outlined how the repeal would proceed. ALA has previously issued two resolutions in support of net neutrality: the first in 2006 and another in 2014 affirming their support. ALA strenuously opposes the repeal of net neutrality rules and released an emphatic statement on November 21.
2. Contact your representatives in Congress.
Ask your Senators to support Senator Markey’s resolution, and make sure your House Representatives know you support using the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to issue a “resolution of disapproval” reversing the FCC’s decision. You can contact your Representatives directly via phone call or comment form. The ALA Action Center has also created a web form with boilerplate language for you to urge your representatives to use the CRA to issue a resolution of disapproval.
3. Keep up to date with ALA and ALCTS advocacy.
Subscribe to District Dispatch to get updates about governmental actions, analyses of how they affect the library community, and suggestions for actions you can take. You can also contact the ALCTS Advocacy & Policy Committee with your concerns or questions by emailing alcts-advocates@lists.ala.org.
