An internet without Net neutrality allows internet service providers (ISPs) to slow down or charge more for certain services or websites while also promoting others1.

In 2018, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai reclassified broadband internet as a Title I service under the purview of the Federal Trade Commission, removing regulations that long held ISPs back from doing just that2.

Pai’s order was protested by millions of Americans, in person and online. Meanwhile, millions of comments supporting the end of net neutrality were determined to be fake.

Ever since the FCC repealed net neutrality, ISPs like Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile have been throttling traffic "pretty much everywhere all the time3." Worse yet, federal courts have refused to overturn the FCC's decision, leaving us with few options to restore freedom online.

As of 2018, a majority of registered voters were in favor of net neutrality4. So far, only California has been successful in legislating net neutrality statewide5, but President Joe Biden can help us make it a federal issue.

In order to restore net neutrality, Biden's FCC must repeal the 2018 Restoring Internet Freedom Order. The new FCC could pass a declaratory ruling to reverse the 2018 Order and reinstate the 2015 Open Internet Order that would again reclassify broadband providers from Title I to Title II services6.

Biden said during his campaign that he plans to allot $20 billion of a $1.3 trillion infrastructure plan toward broadband infrastructure investment in rural areas. He promised to  allow municipalities to invest in their own broadband networks or co-ops, and triple the funding of the U.S. Agriculture Department's "Community Connect" grants, which enable municipalities to spend money toward municipal broadband7. The plan will likely form a "close lockstep movement" between his administration and the FCC.

As so many now rely on a stable internet connection for their education and livelihoods, we need net neutrality now more than ever.

Sign the petition below and demand the FCC stand up for net neutrality!

1. Meira Gebel, Business Insider (18 December 2020), "What is net neutrality? Here's what you need to know about the open internet concept."
2. Sara Morrison, Vox (8 December 2020), "How Biden's FCC could fix America's internet."
3. Olga Kharif, Bloomberg (19 August 2019), "Wireless Carrier Throttling of Online Video Is Pervasive."
4. Prachi Bhardwaj, Business Insider (17 May 2018), "Registered voters across parties support the Senate's decision to overturn the repeal on net neutrality."
5. Tom Wheelerm New York Times (2 October 2019), "California Will Have an Open Internet."
6. Darrell M. West, Nicol Turner Lee, and Caitlin Chin, Brookings Institute (3 December 2020), "What to expect from a Biden FCC on Section 230, net neutrality, and 5G."
7. Ryan Johnston, Statescoop (1 December 2020), "With Pai's departure, FCC likely to restore net neutrality, strengthen municipal broadband."