burger caret-down caret-right Shape Copy close Group 19 Group 16 Group 17 document-add Material/Icons white/Edit or Create Combined Shape Shape Group 10 Group 4 Page 1 Group 7 Fill 1 Group Group 31 Group 21 Copy Combined Shape Shape

New TV Ad Calls on FCC to Keep Internet Open

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Days before a pivotal Federal Communications Commission meeting on the future of Net Neutrality, MoveOn.org Political Action has started running a TV ad urging the FCC to heed President Obama’s call for an open Internet.

The FCC is scheduled to meet Thursday to consider a proposal from its chair, Tom Wheeler, that could undermine the foundational principle of Net Neutrality, which ensures that the Internet remains open and that content shouldn’t be privileged just because its backers can afford to put it into a special fast lane.

“An open Internet levels the playing field in our democracy. That’s why it’s alarming that FCC Chair Tom Wheeler has proposed rules that would break President Obama’s promise to uphold Net Neutrality — rules that could destroy the Internet as we know it,” said Victoria Kaplan, lead campaign director of MoveOn.org Political Action. “MoveOn members strongly support Net Neutrality and are calling on the FCC to scrap proposed rules that would undermine an open Internet.”

MoveOn’s ad, running this week via a five-figure buy in the D.C. market, warns that the proposal in front of the FCC could “change the rules and let Verizon and Comcast pick winners and losers online.”

The ad quotes President Obama saying, “I’m a big believer in Net Neutrality,” and, “We’ve got to keep the Internet open.”

Allowing big telecommunications companies to control the flow and speed of information online could create a two-tiered Internet, with a fast lane for wealthy corporations that can afford to pay for their content to move quickly, and a slow lane for everyone else, including small businesses, educators, artists, entrepreneurs, and ordinary Americans.

MoveOn’s new ad comes after more than 10,000 MoveOn members submitted stories and comments to the FCC last week demanding that the commission support Net Neutrality. In their testimonies, MoveOn members explained how they could be personally harmed in the absence of Net Neutrality.

VIEW MOVEON MEMBERS’ STORIES HERE: http://www.moveon.org/savetheinternet