Congress: You can’t fool the public on net neutrality

[Commentary] It didn't take much to get Fight for the Future members angry. After all, members of Congress take some of the most money in campaign contributions from "Big Cable" companies, and these same members held hearings that were transparently designed to undermine the public will on network neutrality.

We told our members the hearings were happening, and put a livestream on our website alongside a tool that let people call their reps with one click. We added a feature where, after a person talks to 10 members of Congress, they get connected to a Fight for the Future staff member, so we could personally thank them. After talking to all of those supporters, I am absolutely positive that we will win this fight for net neutrality. The people I talked to had literally nothing in common with each other except that they all cared fervently about net neutrality, and were willing to do pretty much anything to defend it. Realizing that was the exact moment when President Lincoln’s quote came into my mind. “You can’t fool all of the people all of the time.” The Internet as a platform for free speech and exchange of ideas has made this adage truer than ever before in history; and that’s exactly what we’re fighting to defend.

[Evan Greer is the Campaign Director of digital rights nonprofit Fight for the Future]