Dear Friends,

As the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) considers how to write the rules to protect freedom and openness on the Internet, who should they turn to: consumers like you and me, or profit-hungry telecommunications companies?

Verizon and Google announced this week that they have it all figured out when it comes to net neutrality.* They unveiled a policy framework that would give telecom companies the right to speed up or slow down certain kinds of content, and to block outright applications or content on wireless networks.

That sounds downright scary to me.

Please join me in telling the FCC to say 'thanks, but no thanks' to the Verizon/Google plan.

It shouldn't be up to giant corporations to decide the rules and regulations that govern their behavior.

The FCC should act immediately to protect the long-standing principle of net neutrality so that the Internet can continue to grow, fuel innovation and facilitate communication.

Today the Internet serves as our "town square" -- where we talk to one another, exchange views, find information from many diverse sources of news and opinion, blog, contact candidates, and engage in our democracy. We must make certain that for-profit interests don't destroy the (small-d) democratic culture of the web.

Please tell the FCC to reject the Verizon/Google plan, and act immediately to put strong net neutrality protections in place.

Sincerely,

Bob Edgar
and the rest of the team at Common Cause