Here’s the headline: On April 25, 2024, the FCC voted to restore net neutrality, but a Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the FCC lacks the authority to enforce net neutrality protections.
There’s no doubt that this ruling is a huge blow to the activists who have fought for years to see net neutrality restored. We recognized the importance of protecting internet users everywhere from the worst harms of Big Telecom, but the industry has once again used its extreme wealth to successfully avoid regulation.
It’s difficult to see a path forward for net neutrality right now. The Federal Communications Commission is now chaired by Brendan Carr, co-author of Project 2025, who has long been on the record as opposing net neutrality. In one of her final statements as Chair, Jessica Rosenworcel said, “With this decision it is clear that Congress now needs to heed their call, take up the charge for net neutrality, and put open internet principles in federal law.” And while it is possible Congress will rally around net neutrality, an issue that is hugely popular across party lines, their attention is being pulled in many other directions.
The good news is that because of our years of collective organizing, there is a clear consensus in support of open internet. And in this vein many states have begun the work of passing their own net neutrality laws, following the leadership of California and its gold standard net neutrality law.
Read more about the long history of the U.S. net neutrality battle below, and follow us on social media or subscribe to our email lists to receive important updates.
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What is Net Neutrality?
Net neutrality is the fairly simple idea that internet service providers (Verizon, AT&T, Comcast, etc.) should treat all the data that travels over their networks equally, and not discriminate in favor of particular apps, sites or services. Net neutrality prevents ISPs from creating “fast lanes,” censoring content, throttling traffic and even outright blocking access to their competitor’s products. This principle recognizes that Internet access is an essential resource of modern life, and has guided the world wide web from the beginning. It has been protected by federal policy under Republican AND Democrat leadership since the early 2000s.
Prefer watching to reading? Here’s a curated playlist of video explainers:
What is going on with Net Neutrality?
The Obama FCC issued the Open Internet Order in 2015, establishing net neutrality protections, but it was repealed in 2017 by Trump’s FCC Chair, Ajit Pai. This move put corporate gatekeepers back in control of what we can and can’t access online. When the Biden FCC became fully staffed in 2023, Chair Jessica Rosenworcel immediately announced plans to restore net neutrality protections. The FCC voted to restore net neutrality on April 25, 2024 in a huge victory for grassroots action takers and defenders of the Internet. In January 2025, a Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals stuck down the order and ruled that the FCC cannot enforce net neutrality rules.
Why do we need Net Neutrality?
Despite the telecom-backed myth that there weren’t any consequences to the 2017 repeal of net neutrality, the reality is that there is a greater need for these protections than ever before. ISPs have made it clear that unless these rules are in place, they will do what’s best for their bottom line even when it puts people in danger – like in 2018 when Verizon throttled traffic for California firefighters during massive wildfires. ISPs have also excluded poor, rural, and communities of color from broadband expansion, and have charged bogus fees and forced customers to watch advertisements in order to get online. And as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the U.S., people were at the mercy of Internet companies to get online to work, go to school, and access lifesaving information. Repealing net neutrality gave Internet providers the power to decide whether we can get online or not. Under net neutrality, Internet providers face regulation from the FCC and will be forced to abide by certain practices and stop their worst abuses.
How does Net Neutrality help rein in Big Tech?
Without net neutrality, there was nothing stopping telecom giants like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile from cutting deals with companies like Google (YouTube), Spotify, and Instagram to prioritize their services or exempt them from arbitrary data caps. This would have only entrenched the monopoly power of these giants, making it nearly impossible for new or alternative platforms to succeed, and leaving us all at the mercy of these few, powerful companies.
Why do artists and creators care about Net Neutrality?
Artists know that if Big Telecom giants had the power to squeeze access fees from Big Tech companies, these monopolies would have put corporate profits before struggling artists, and forced artists to cover those costs. And smaller, more independent platforms that actually cater to artists’ needs could have shut down entirely. Fees like this are so high in South Korea that Twitch shut down there because it became too expensive to operate. Now more than ever, artists and creative workers need new indie outlets and platforms, and net neutrality will help build those alternative options.
What’s happening now?
Throughout all this we’ve kept fighting. We helped California pass a gold-standard net neutrality law at the state level, pushed the Senate to pass a bipartisan resolution to undo the FCC’s repeal, and got Congress to introduce the Save the Internet Act that can enshrine net neutrality into law once and for all.
By voting to restore net neutrality, the FCC took an important step to bring back Title II net neutrality protections. But Big Telecom used its wealth and power to sue the FCC and resist regulation. Net neutrality now hangs in the balance and its future remains uncertain.
A coalition of organizations including Fight for the Future and Demand Progress submitted a letter to the FCC Commissioners expressing our support for Title II reclassification and Net Neutrality. The full letter may be found here. Participating organizations:
- 18 Million Rising
- Access Humboldt
- Access Now
- Accountable Tech
- Advocacy for Principled Action in Government
- American Booksellers Association
- American Civil Liberties Union
- American Humanist Association
- American Library Association
- Appalshop, Inc.
- Arkansas Black Gay Men’s Forum
- Aspiration
- Assembly Four
- Association of Research Libraries
- Brown grove Preservation Group
- California Clean Money Campaign
- Caribbean Equality Project
- Carolina Abortion Fund
- Center for Democracy & Technology
- Center for Freethought Equality
- CHAYN
- Church Women United in New York State
- COLAGE
- Consumer Action
- Consumer Federation of America
- Convocation Research + Design
- Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
- Creative Commons
- CreaTV San José
- Dangerous Speech Project
- Defending Rights & Dissent
- Demand Progress Education Fund
- Derechos Digitales – América Latina
- Earth Ethics, Inc.
- Electronic Frontier Foundation
- Electronic Privacy Information Center
- Endora
- Families for Freedom
- Fight for the Future
- For The Binat
- Free Press
- Freedom Oklahoma
- Future of Music Coalition
- Generation Justice
- Gotham City Drupal LLC
- Indivisible Ventura
- Internet Archive
- Internet Safe Kids Africa
- Intransitive
- Kairos Fellowship
- Line Break Media
- Lower Cape Indivisible
- Malloc
- Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition
- May First Movement Technology
- Media Alliance
- MediaJustice
- Mendocino Women’s Political Coalition
- MoveOn
- National Coalition Against Censorship
- National Consumer Law Center, on behalf of its low-income clients
- National Digital Inclusion Alliance
- New America’s Open Technology Institute
- North American Climate, Conservation and Environment(NACCE)
- North Kitsap Indivisible
- NTEN
- Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS)
- Nuclear Information and Resource Service
- Oakland Privacy
- Ocean Conservation Research
- Open MIC
- OpenMedia
- Ovis Aries Farm
- PEN America
- People Power United
- Portland Outright
- Presente.org
- Progressive Technology Project
- Public Knowledge
- Rangoli Pittsburgh
- Reproaction
- Reproductive Health Access Project
- Rinascimento Green
- RootsAction.org
- Snohomish County Indivisible
- SQSH (St. Louis Queer+ Support Helpline)
- Stand.earth
- State Innovation Exchange
- Surveillance Technology Oversight Project
- Synergistic Solutions
- Tech for Good Asia
- The Greenlining Institute
- The Tor Project
- Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT)
- TransOhio
- U.S. PIRG
- Unite North Metro Denver
- United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry
- United Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW)
- WA People’s Privacy
A coalition of musicians and artists have signed-on to a letter expressing their support for Title II reclassification and Net Neutrality. The full letter may be found here. A full list of signers:
- Algiers
- Alok Vaid-Menon
- Amanda Palmer
- B. Dolan
- Big Joanie
- Cecil Castellucci
- Chuck Wendig
- Cory Doctorow
- Damon Krukowski
- David Weinberger
- Deerhoof
- DIIV
- Dougie Poole
- Downtown Boys
- Evan Greer
- Evan Thomas Weiss
- Eve6
- Generacion Suicida
- Harry and the Potters
- Jackie Mendoza
- Jeff Rosenstock
- Julia Holter
- Kevin Duquette
- Kimya Dawson
- Kominas
- Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre
- Liz Pelly
- Medea Benjamin
- Mercedes R. Lackey
- Molly Crabapple
- Mountain Man
- Neil Gaiman
- Nullsleep
- Remember Sports
- Riobamba
- SAMMUS // Dr. Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo
- Sophia Bastian
- Speedy Ortiz
- Spencer Tweedy
- Stephen Fry
- Tess Roby
- Tom Morello
- War On Women
- Xenia Rubinos
- .XOM
- Alan Birmingham
- Alex Heigl
- Alex Mechanic
- Alexis Clements
- Aloysius Bell
- Amélie
- Amrit S Khalsa
- Andrea Danger
- Ann Dorsey
- Anne Boccato
- Annelise Ekland
- Anthony Richards
- Art Official
- Asaran Earth Trio
- AWKWORD
- Babas
- BABS
- Barb Bailly
- Baths
- Bit Shifter
- Brendan Cardaci
- Brian Gingras
- Britani
- Brook Pridemore
- Bruce Alan Rauscher
- Bug Guts
- Carrie Laski
- Casey Dienel
- Casey Neill & The Norway Rats
- Cat Mahatta
- Charlotta Ball
- Chef Sol
- Chelsea Dirck
- Cheryl Militello
- Cody Goin
- Cognitive Fungus Productions LLC
- Curerbell
- D. T. Cooke
- Dan Wagner
- Dana Barela
- Daniel Bachman
- Daniel Penzer
- Daniel Polley
- Dave Purcell (Radio Free ABQ)
- Davia Schendel
- David Barboni
- David Klingensmith
- David Wendt
- davidltrue
- Deborah Richards
- Dee Davidson
- Del Paxton
- Diambu Smith
- Dim Wizard
- Divine Decadence
- Dots and Lines
- Dots Will Echo
- Doug Tuttle
- Earl Grove
- Eli Valley
- Eli Winter
- Elissa Martel
- Elizabeth Butler
- Ella Collis
- Elyse Winn
- Emery Robillard
- Emo Sea Monster
- EpZ
- Eric Madis
- Erik Hvoslef
- Ernie Smith, tech writer, editor of Tedium
- Fishboy
- Floral Tattoo
- Francesca Rago
- Fred Barger
- Gabriella Raelyn
- George Sarah
- Gregory Anderson
- Gregory Kemmis
- Hailen Jackson
- heavens club
- Houtakker
- Hurry
- IE
- iji
- Ill.Gates
- Irene Driscoll
- Irene lee carson
- Iron Curtain (The Chiptunes Artist)
- Isa Suarez
- itoldyouiwouldeatyou
- James Adams
- James Mulcare
- James Norris
- Jan Rountree
- Jason Anderson
- Jason Crawford
- Jasper Jones
- Jeremy Goldstein (EVAC)
- Jevin Almazan
- jim nielsen
- Jitensha
- jj skolnik (daddy’s boy)
- Joan goodfellow
- Joe DeGeorge
- Joel Jerome
- John Coffey
- John Munnelly
- Johnny Gifford
- Jonathan Lenore Kastin
- Jordan Webb
- Joseph Quisol
- Josh Lee
- Judith ackerman
- Juliet Stunkel
- Justin Philipps
- Kahlil Goodwyn
- Kaia Mortensen
- Karen Berger
- Karen Skloss
- Kate VanVorst
- Kathryn Hill
- Keith Morris
- Kelly Wells
- Kenneth Jenrow
- Kent Minault
- Kliph Scurlock
- L P Rees
- La Neve
- Lana Henson
- Larry Crane
- Laura Gibbs
- Laura Herndon
- LAWRENCE
- Les Manivelles
- Lisa Chadwick
- Liz Hogg
- LOCATIONS
- Lori Stefano
- Lucii Richardson
- Maggi Joseph
- Margaret Durow
- Margaret Gel (icze4r)
- Mari, Manuel Bell
- Mark Reback
- Martha Sharkin
- Max Carrara
- Meg at Illuminations At & Glass
- Melinda Rice
- Mercy!
- Michael Sullivan
- Mikyle Gray
- mk zariel
- Moon By Moon
- Nadia Garofalo
- Nancy Neumann
- Nas TY
- nicole misha
- Noah Kittinger
- Oliver van Moon
- Opal Oliver Minor
- ovacord
- Pamela Torrance
- Paper Bee
- Paul Kintzing (German Error Message / Other Nothing)
- Paul Lapidus
- Pete Mason
- Peter O. Childs
- PetHorizons
- Phebe Watson
- Philip Brunner
- Philip Ritter
- Pinkwash
- Piper Street Sound
- Puppy Angst
- R. Banov
- Rafael Koerner
- Randy Bayers
- Rene Bobo
- Richard Edwards
- Richard Guier
- Rosebud
- Rowan Blackwood
- Roy Shippen
- ROZEPOP
- Rye Marshall
- Safa Shokrai
- Sam Gas Can
- Samuel Clocks
- Scott Harris
- scott ireland
- Scott McDowell
- Scott Shannon
- Sean Trischka
- Seth Campbell
- Shelley Hilton
- Shirlene Harris
- Sonic Eddy
- Stefan Costilhes Podgorski
- Stephen LoVerme
- Suburban John
- Sun Urchins
- Svadhi Sol
- Tahnee Juryn
- Tall Guy Short Songs
- Terrie Smith
- The Darling Invasion
- Thomas Northrup
- Tom Steger
- Tony Rutherford
- TRAGWAG
- Vaiapraia
- VIctor Maxwell
- Victoria R. Downtown Boys
- Waylon Fingers
- Where Is Your Dog Now?
- Wolves
The Internet is uniting behind net neutrality. You can help rally support by activating your corner of the Internet by making original content and sharing our graphics on your socials.