In midtown Manhattan, some 350 people came to chant slogans and wave signs. Now it’s hit the mainstream.. Democratic senators have called for a delay in next Thursday’s vote, while Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel urged backers to “make a ruckus. In one Facebook group about leggings seller LuLaRoe, one woman’s lament about the repeal triggered more than 270 responses.Net neutrality also has triggered discussions all over social media, even in groups that typically don’t discuss tech policy.“There will be a political price to pay for those who are on the wrong side of this issue because net neutrality’s time as a campaign issue has arrived,” Sen. The FCC says millions of comments used temporary email accounts from fakemailgenerator. If the net-neutrality rules are repealed, she said, “it’s just another showcase of oligarchy upon America. “It’s the rarity that gives them some of their power., a longtime net neutrality supporter, said on China RG6/U Cables a call with reporters. More Hollywood celebrities have been joining the cry against the agency’s direction. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and his staff have called out ugly and racist tweets and death threats. Share what you loved about The Internet,” actor Mark Ruffalo tweeted as he urged people to push Congress to intervene.Since the FCC announced just before Thanksgiving that it was planning to gut the rules, there have been about 750,000 calls to Congress made through Battle for the Net, a website run by groups that advocate for net neutrality. Pai also said activists came to his home to post signs that referenced his children.
An August study by a data firm backed by the telecom industry found that 60 percent of the comments made this year supported keeping the 2015 rules. (Photo: AP) Net neutrality is a simple concept but a dense and often technical issue normally discussed in tech and telecom circles.But the commenting system has been messy. While Congress doesn’t need to approve FCC decisions, it can overrule the agency by passing a law.” Some Democrats are hoping that any rollback of net neutrality rules will become a campaign rallying cry in 2018 and beyond.The FCC’s commenting system has logged 23 million comments, compared with roughly 4 million for the last blockbuster issue — when the agency approved the net-neutrality rules in 2015.Celebrity complaints and street protests aren’t likely to stop the agency’s vote on Thursday, but activists hope the growing outcry will push Congress to intervene and will show support for stricter regulation down the road.Net neutrality has been a hot button before; thanks to assists from Silicon Valley and TV host John Oliver speaking out about what they see as threats to the internet. Ed Markey, D-Mass.“Access to a free and fair internet is necessary for a functioning democracy,” said Lauren Gruber, a writer for a branding agency who joined the New York protest.Critics of the rules say that they hurt investment in internet infrastructure and represent too much government involvement in business.“Protests that draw average people out into the streets across the country are relatively rare,” she said. Next week, the Federal Communications Commission plans to vote on gutting Obama-era rules meant to stop broadband companies such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon from exercising more control over what people watch and see on the internet. By contrast, there were fewer than 30,000 calls in the first two weeks of November.
