{"id":7066,"date":"2017-12-08T10:56:27","date_gmt":"2017-12-08T18:56:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=7066"},"modified":"2017-12-08T10:56:27","modified_gmt":"2017-12-08T18:56:27","slug":"shouting-stopthefcc-net-neutrality-defenders-target-lawmakers-verizon-nationwide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2017\/12\/08\/shouting-stopthefcc-net-neutrality-defenders-target-lawmakers-verizon-nationwide\/","title":{"rendered":"Shouting #StoptheFCC, Net Neutrality Defenders Target Lawmakers and Verizon Nationwide"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"field-wrapper-attribution\" class=\"field-wrapper content-container clearfix inline-fields\">\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-article-date field--type-datestamp field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\"><span class=\"pb-timestamp\"><span class=\"date-display-single\">December 07, 2017\u00a0<\/span><\/span>by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Common Dreams<\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-subtitle field--type-text-long field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<h3>Demonstrators gathered outside congressional offices and more than 700 Verizon stores nationwide to protest FCC Chairman Ajit Pai&#8217;s plan to turn over control of the internet to major corporations<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"field-wrapper-authors\" class=\"field-wrapper content-container clearfix inline-fields\">\n<div class=\"grouping-prefix\">by\u00a0<span class=\"pb-byline\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/jessica-corbett-staff-writer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Jessica Corbett, staff writer<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"shr_canvas2\" class=\"shareaholic-canvas shareaholic-ui shareaholic-resolved-canvas ng-scope\" data-app-id=\"6840204\" data-app=\"share_buttons\" data-title=\"Shouting #StoptheFCC, Net Neutrality Defenders Target Lawmakers and Verizon Nationwide\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/2017\/12\/07\/shouting-stopthefcc-net-neutrality-defenders-target-lawmakers-and-verizon-nationwide\" data-summary=\"\">\n<div class=\"ng-scope\">\n<div class=\"shareaholic-share-buttons-container shareaholic-ui no-print  flat mini\">\n<div class=\"shareaholic-share-buttons-wrapper shareaholic-ui\">\n<div class=\"shareaholic-share-buttons-animation-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"shareaholic-share-buttons-heading custom\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"ng-scope\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-article-img field--type-image field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"caption-processed\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/cd_large\/public\/headlines\/dqdo4vcw4aetpbk.jpg-large.jpg?itok=ed2yLoaM\" alt=\"Verizon FCC protest\" width=\"955\" height=\"500\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-main-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<p>Protesters demonstrated outside Verizon stores across the country on Thursday, Dec. 7 to denounce the plan by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to turn over control of the internet to major service providers. (Photo:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/shauna_gm\/status\/938834450980491269\">shauna gm<\/a>\/Twitter)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<p>With the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) slated to vote on Chairman Ajit Pai&#8217;s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/2017\/11\/21\/internet-defenders-urge-mass-revolt-fight-fccs-scorched-earth-attack-net-neutrality\">plan<\/a>\u00a0to kill\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/net-neutrality\">net neutrality<\/a>\u00a0on Dec. 14, open internet advocates and free press groups participated in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/2017\/12\/04\/protests-planned-nationwide-vote-fccs-catastrophic-plan-kill-net-neutrality-looms\">planned<\/a>\u00a0protests on Thursday at congressional offices and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/newswire\/2017\/12\/07\/verizon-protests-today-700-locations-nationwide-people-rise-against-ajit-pais?utm_campaign=shareaholic&amp;utm_medium=twitter&amp;utm_source=socialnetwork\">more than 700 Verizon stores in all 50 states, plus D.C.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Ahead of the day of action, BattlefortheNet.com, Demand Progress, Fight for the Future, and Free Press Action Fund partnered to launch a\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/verizonprotests.com\/\">website<\/a>\u00a0featuring an interactive map to help supporters locate demonstrations in their area as well as a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1Q1McrV-dE0YtdHMYRmyYe_rgCvc1uJfbXq1SGEtvpGU\/preview#\">three-page guide<\/a>\u00a0for organizing protests.<\/p>\n<p>Protesters are targeting Verizon\u00a0because Pai is a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/2017\/12\/05\/headlining-verizon-headquarters-fcc-chair-ajit-pai-dismisses-net-neutrality\">former lobbyist<\/a>\u00a0for the company, which has\u2014along with major internet service providers (ISPs) Comcast and AT&amp;T\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2017\/7\/12\/15959932\/comcast-verizon-att-net-neutrality-day-of-action\">invested<\/a>\u00a0heavily in pressuring lawmakers to support policies that benefit telecom companies at the expense of consumers.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the ongoing lobbying efforts, those who have helped organize the demonstrations remain hopeful that widespread outrage over Pai&#8217;s plan could push members of Congress to take action to protect net neutrality.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Under Pai&#8217;s leadership the FCC has made a mockery of our democratic process,&#8221;\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/newswire\/2017\/12\/07\/verizon-protests-today-700-locations-nationwide-people-rise-against-ajit-pais?utm_campaign=shareaholic&amp;utm_medium=twitter&amp;utm_source=socialnetwork\">said<\/a>\u00a0Fight for the Future campaign director Evan Greer.\u00a0&#8220;With a rogue FCC commissioner blatantly captured by the industry he is supposed to provide oversight for, Congress must do their job and take action to stop the FCC vote on Dec. 14.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Despite the outpouring of support for net neutrality, the three men who make up the FCC&#8217;s majority remain determined to ignore the democratic process and take away the rights of internet users,&#8221;\u00a0said Free Press Action Fund field director Mary Alice Crim, referring to the FCC&#8217;s three Republican commissioners.<\/p>\n<p>However, she also noted that &#8220;the outcry from beyond the Beltway is beginning to change many minds in Washington,&#8221; and &#8220;phones are ringing off the hook on Capitol Hill as people take to the streets to put the public need for an open internet before the demands of Verizon lobbyists.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;One thing is certain,&#8221; Crim concluded, &#8220;Chairman Pai won&#8217;t have the last word on net neutrality.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Although the future of internet regulation has been a hot-button issue since President Donald Trump appointed Pai, an industry insider, to lead the FCC, the action on the ground has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/2017\/11\/27\/tech-companies-join-forces-cyber-monday-defend-net-neutrality\">intensified<\/a>\u00a0in recent weeks, with an official vote to roll back consumer protections\u2014and &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/2017\/11\/16\/time-raise-hell-internet-defenders-mobilize-fcc-aims-kill-net-neutrality-within\">destroy the internet as we know it<\/a>&#8220;\u2014scheduled for next week.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As the past two weeks have shown, people reject the ongoing love affair between hated internet service providers and D.C. policymakers,&#8221; said Demand Progress communications director Mark Stanley. &#8220;Democrats and Republicans alike are willing to take action against any threat to Net Neutrality rules that protect our online rights.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>A Civis Analytics\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/353285485\/Freedman-Consulting-Net-Neutrality-Poll\">poll<\/a>\u00a0(pdf) released in July found that 77 percent of Americans\u201473 percent of Republicans, 80 percent of Democrats, and 76 percent of Independents\u2014are in favor of keeping the FCC&#8217;s open internet rules, and 81 percent &#8220;agree that ISPs should not be able to block or throttle websites, or charge extra for preferred access to consumers.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Demonstrators are sharing scenes from Thursday&#8217;s protests on social media with the hashtags\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/search?vertical=default&amp;q=%23StopTheFCC&amp;src=typd\">#StoptheFCC<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/search?q=%23NetNeutrality&amp;src=typd\">#NetNeutrality<\/a>. Participants toted signs with messages such as &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kateloving\/status\/938724605841346560\">Democracy is a free internet<\/a>&#8221; and &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattfwood\/status\/938805784191950848\">All I want for Christmas is net neutrality<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"field-wrapper-copyright-cond\" class=\"field-wrapper content-container clearfix\">\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-copyright field--type-text field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"field-wrapper-share-this-article\" class=\"field-wrapper content-container clearfix\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>December 07, 2017\u00a0by Common Dreams Demonstrators gathered outside congressional offices and more than 700 Verizon stores nationwide to protest FCC Chairman Ajit Pai&#8217;s plan to turn over control of the internet to major corporations by\u00a0Jessica Corbett, staff writer Protesters demonstrated outside Verizon stores across the country on Thursday, Dec. 7&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2017\/12\/08\/shouting-stopthefcc-net-neutrality-defenders-target-lawmakers-verizon-nationwide\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7066"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7066"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7067,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7066\/revisions\/7067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}