Organizers Announce Rally for Net Neutrality Thursday Noon

On Thursday at noon, Women’s March Santa Barbara will organize on the sidewalk in front of the Verizon store on State Street to rally for net neutrality. The ability of corporations or internet service providers to prioritize some types of internet content over others is up before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on December 14, and FCC Chair Ajit Pai, a former Verizon attorney, “proposes to gut the foundation” of the open internet, organizer Michal Lynch wrote in her press release announcing the rally.

During the Obama administration, the Open Internet Order created rules that forced telecommunications companies to allow a level playing field for all websites and internet providers. The Trump administration wants to sweep those rules aside, creating what The Nation calls “information superhighways for corporate and political elites and digital dirt roads for those who cannot afford the corporate tolls.”

“Make a ruckus,” Lynch wrote. “Tell [the FCC] they can’t take away internet openness without a fight.” The rally takes place Thursday, December 7, noon, 626 State Street.