Theresa May is planning to introduce huge regulations on the way the internet works, allowing the government to decide what is said online.

Lobbyists for Google, Facebook, and other websites are trying to stop the implementation of a proposed law that would strengthen consumer privacy protections online. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) last week proposed a bill that would require broadband providers and websites to obtain users' opt-in consent before they use Web browsing history and application usage history for advertising and other purposes or before they share that information with other entities.

This is the same process that happened with the commission’s proposal to kill the 2015 net neutrality rules. An initial draft was published last month, and yesterday we got to see the revised draft that ended up being voted on. In between, there were plenty of comments made for the FCC to look at: 2.6 million as of today. (Though tens of thousands appear to be fake.)

“Friends of recently-deceased individuals…confirmed their friends could not have posted the comments posthumously.” By Daniel Oberhaus.

News: Consumer groups are calling on the FCC to stop ignoring and properly investigate the hundreds of thousands of fake comments being fraudulently submitted to the FCC's net neutrality proceeding.

A US court ruling meaning broadband internet service providers will no longer have to follow principles of network neutrality has sparked predictions the internet will end as we know it. Some predict it will be controlled by a few rich corporations who will charge content providers on a pay-to-play model. Others have predicted increased government control or suggested that people in developing nations will be forced into servitude to Facebook.

The metadata of a document distributed to House Republicans shows it was created by a lobbyist for cable companies. By Lee Fang, Nick Surgey. (May 23, 2017)

Politicians do not understand the Internet. It is not so much that the politicians in power today in their 60s weren’t born with it, even if that’s also true. It’s more that politicians as a profession are institutionally incapable of understanding it, just because it functions without – even despite – political interference.

At Recode’s Code Conference on Wednesday, Netflix’s CEO Reed Hastings seemed to put the final nail in the coffin of his company’s support for net neutrality, which is threatened by the Republican-dominated Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) deregulation proposal. Netflix’s withdrawal from the fight for a free internet — of which it used to be a stalwart participant — is disappointing but not surprising, and it’s a reminder of why we need net neutrality: to protect the powerless, not the powerful.

Major tech companies and nonprofit groups have signed on to a “day of action” next month to protest the FCC’s planned rollback of net neutrality rules. Organized by nonprofit group Fight for the Future, the protest will include Amazon, Etsy, Reddit, Mozilla, the ACLU, and several others, who have all agreed to show their support for net neutrality on July 12th. In 2014, a similar list of companies agreed to post banners on their websites showing support for regulation.

On July 12th: we’ll stop them. Join the Internet-Wide Day of Action to save net neutrality! The FCC wants to destroy net neutrality and give big cable companies control over what we see and do online. If they get their way, they’ll allow widespread throttling, blocking, censorship, and extra fees. On July 12th, the Internet will come together to stop them.

A coalition of activists and internet companies is mobilizing net neutrality supporters for an online demonstration next month against the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) plan to repeal the landmark rules. The groups announced on Tuesday that they will be holding an “internet-wide day of action” on July 12 and will help supporters flood the FCC and Congress with pro-net neutrality messages.

Net neutrality is just a "slogan."

Robert Scheer interviews former FCC associate general counsel Mark Lloyd about why a fair, open media is crucial to maintaining democracy.

Several US senators spoke out this week on the importance of net neutrality to innovation and free speech. They are right. The Internet has become our public square, our newspaper, our megaphone. The Federal Communications Commission is trying to turn it in something more akin to commercial cable TV, and we all have to work together to stop it.

A Democratic Congressman from New Jersey has asked the Department of Justice and the FBI to look into whether fake comments submitted as part of the FCC’s net neutrality proceeding violated federal law. In a letter sent to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe this week, Rep. Frank Pallone urged the pair to investigate reports that stolen identities were used to submit comments to the Commission.

Facebook and Google have decided to participate in the 'Internet-wide Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality' protest scheduled for July 12 in the US. Being organized by Advocacy groups Fight for the Future, Free Press, and Demand Progress, the 'Day of Action' has already received support from Amazon, Netflix and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), among others.

Some of the world's largest internet companies are preparing to throttle their own websites in a day of protest against the United States' Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The 170 organisations involved - including Amazon, Reddit and Netflix - are preparing to choke their own services on Wednesday 12 July as a warning against FCC proposals for deregulating how internet service providers (ISPs) treat customers.

This is a short video explaining in simple terms what Net Neutrality is and the consequences of abolishing it with the dishonestly named Restoring Internet Freedom Act. You are encouraged to share this non-profit video with anyone and if you wish to use it in your videos or streams, it is licensed under Creative Commons for free use, with attribution and without any alteration.