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Historic Win for Internet as FCC announces strong new rules to save Net Neutrality after over 5 million Internet users spoke out

February 26, 2015 – The Federal Communications Commission has just announced strong new Net Neutrality rules. Experts say the new rules will entrench net neutrality and prevent telecom conglomerates from creating ‘slow lanes’ on the Internet.

The rules came after a massive, year-long grassroots campaign involving over 5 million people from across the U.S. and around the globe. The campaign was organized by an inspiring coalition of open Internet groups, public interest groups, civil rights organizations and web companies.

Internet freedom organization OpenMedia, which yesterday parked a giant Jumbotron opposite the FCC to stream thousands of citizen comments, is hailing the FCC’s announcement as a landmark win for Internet users everywhere.

One Giant Jumbotron, Millions of Voices: Today the Internet comes together to defend Net Neutrality

February 25, 2015 – When staff at the FCC look out the window today, they’ll see the Internet looking right back at them. In advance of tomorrow’s crucial FCC Net Neutrality decision, OpenMedia and a huge Internet freedom coalition are parking a giant Jumbotron opposite the agency’s headquarters in Washington D.C. The Jumbotron will be streaming images, messages, videos, and memes submitted by tens of thousands of Internet users via an online tool at StopTheSlowdown.net.

The FCC is poised to decide whether to allow telecom companies to create slow lanes on the Internet. The Jumbotron will be part of a range of activity outside the FCC building, as Internet freedom advocates gather from all over the U.S. and the globe. Over five million people, including President Obama, have called on the FCC to defend real Net Neutrality. Comments made by FCC chair Tom Wheeler earlier this month prompted cautious optimism from open Internet advocates.

Messages from Internet users to be beamed on Giant Jumbotron outside the FCC, in run-up to crucial Net Neutrality decision

February 18, 2015 – Internet users have a new way to ensure their voice is heard, in the run-up to the FCC’s crucial net neutrality decision next week. Internet freedom group OpenMedia, backed by a huge coalition including Daily Kos, Roots Action, The Nation, Tumblr, and others will park a giant Jumbotron opposite FCC headquarters. The Jumbotron will stream messages and images submitted by Internet users through an online tool going live today at StopTheSlowdown.net.

The campaign aims to pressure the FCC to prevent telecom giants like Comcast and Verizon from creating slow lanes on the Internet. In recent months, over 5.1 million people have spoken out to protest this slow lane plan. The FCC will not accept formal comments from the public in the remaining time leading up to their February 26 decision, so the giant Jumbotron will be the most direct way people can reach them.

Internet advocates celebrate President Obama’s plan to provide all Americans with faster, cheaper Internet

January 14, 2015 – On the heels of the FCC’s announcement of new minimum Internet speeds for all Americans, Internet advocates are celebrating today’s push from President Obama calling for common-sense steps to ensure American Internet users can access a wide range of affordable, innovative, and high-speed services independent of current big telecom conglomerates.

President Obama urged the FCC to override laws in 19 states that block independent options for Internet services, and called for new funding for municipal and rural broadband Internet development across the country. In response, OpenMedia.org Campaigns Manager Josh Tabish had this to say:

As high-level TPP talks continue in Washington D.C., OpenMedia holds face-to-face meetings with key negotiators to demand end to secrecy

Thursday December 11, 2014 – As Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks continue in Washington, D.C., negotiators are set to feel the heat from public interest groups outraged at the secrecy surrounding the talks. The organizations say it’s past time for TPP negotiators to follow the example of the European Commission which recently released to the public the draft text of a similar Trans-Atlantic deal.

President Obama’s call for strong rules against Internet slow lanes a positive sign for Internet users around the world

November 10, 2014 – This morning U.S. President Barack Obama released a decisive statement urging the FCC to use the strongest measures possible to ensure strong net neutrality rules keep the Internet an open playing field, stating “no service should be stuck in a ‘slow lane’ because it does not pay a fee.”

International digital rights organization OpenMedia welcomes this strong statement from the President, as recent rumors reported in the Wall Street Journal suggested that the FCC was still considering rules allowing slow lanes online. In his statement, President Obama directly refers to Title II reclassification, a strong and enforceable approach that Internet freedom advocates - including OpenMedia - have been fighting to implement for the past year, saying: “I'm asking the FCC to classify Internet services under Title II of the law known as the Telecommunications Act.”

Leaked draft confirms TPP will censor Internet and stifle Free Expression worldwide

October 16, 2014 – This morning Wikileaks published a second leaked draft of the Intellectual Property chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The draft confirms people’s worst fears about Internet censorship. That’s according to community-based organization OpenMedia, which is leading a large international Fair Deal Coalition aimed at securing balanced copyright rules for the 21st Century.

“It is hugely disappointing to see that, yet again, members of the public worldwide have to be informed about these critical issues through leaked drafts, instead of through democratic engagement on the part of governments and elected officials,” said OpenMedia Campaigns Coordinator Meghan Sali. “When will our decision-makers recognize that negotiating serious issues - especially proposals that would censor our use of the Internet - must be considered and debated democratically instead of in secret meetings with industry lobbyists?”

Global study finds citizens want balanced copyright rules that respect creators, prioritize free expression, and reject Internet censorship

October 15, 2014 – Citizens from across the globe want balanced copyright rules that are shaped democratically, respect creators, and prioritize free expression. That’s the message of Our Digital Future: A Crowdsourced Agenda for Free Expression, a new report launched today by community-based OpenMedia. The overall consultation process took place over 2 years engaging 300,000 people from Australia to Vietnam.

The report is being launched just days before a crucial round of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks take place in Australia. The findings come as a significant blow to Big Media lobbyists, who have been using the secretive TPP talks to ram through extreme proposals that would censor the Internet and criminalize many everyday online activities. The report finds that over 72% of respondents want copyright rules to be created through “a participatory multi-stakeholder process” in contrast to closed-door TPP meetings from which citizens are completely excluded.

OpenMedia hosts international platform for massive Internet Slowdown Day to show what Internet would be like if we lost net neutrality rules

Digital rights group OpenMedia is joining with Netflix, reddit, Vimeo, and a huge international coalition to support Internet Slowdown Day. Dozens of major websites have agreed to show their users a perpetual ‘loading’ icon, to symbolize how the loss of net neutrality rules could slow many favourite websites to a crawl. To support the day of action, OpenMedia is hosting an action platform at http://StopTheSlowdown.net and encouraging websites to embed the web action widget found here: https://openmedia.org/bigtelecomvstheworld/resources#widget

The move comes against the backdrop of a crucial U.S. FCC hearing which could decide the future of net neutrality in the U.S. Large telecom conglomerates are pushing the FCC to do away with net neutrality, a move that would have major implications for Internet users around the world. Earlier this week, OpenMedia joined with over 60 organizations from over 25 nations to launch Big Telecom -v- The World, a week of action aimed at sounding a loud global call in defence of net neutrality. Over 120,000 people from 179 countries have signed on to the campaign in just 24 hours, making it OpenMedia’s most successful campaign launch of 2014.

World comes together for week of action pushing back against Big Telecom attempts to make Internet slower, more expensive, and more like cable TV

September 8, 2014 – Millions of Internet users from across the globe are standing together to defend the open Internet, and push back against attempts by large telecom conglomerates to undermine net neutrality and consign millions to an Internet slow lane. That’s the message of a new international campaign, Big Telecom -v- The World, launching this morning.

OpenMedia International is collaborating with over 50 organizations from over 20 countries on a Week of Action which will rally Internet users, digital rights groups, and tech companies across the globe to show a united voice for net neutrality. Supporters of the campaign include BitTorrent, Boing Boing, Daily Kos, Electronic Frontiers Australia, Fundación Vía Libre, Greenpeace, reddit, SumOfUs, and many others.

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