Ajit Pai and his Council of Discord
Are nothing, but dark-hearted crooks
Appealing our Net neutrality
That keeps the internet open
For everyone to live happily
Made a grave mistake.
With all petitions signed
Protests around the country
People raising their voices
To blogs, vlogs, art, poetry
To tweets and awareness
Around our dear internet.
It's time for us the people
To rise up against the corrupted
Show them what happens to them
When they take away our rights
The final straw on the camel's back
Time to come together to fight as one.
From across the Country
From New York City to California
From our neighboring countries
Who have their own Internet laws
Their own Net freedoms
We reach out our hands for their help
To save our very way of life.
Before or After Net Neutrality
We lived in harmony with free internet
THat's shaped our world over the years
Since it's birth in the early 70s/80s
Today it is a vital part of the ecosystem
Our source of knowledge and connection.
Everyone relies on the open internet
To start their businesses and apps
To express themselves with art and literature
To play apps and games to creating new mix music
A way for us to connect to loved ones from afar
Our source of research when we got work to do.
It's time for the world to open their eyes
Open your eyes to the truth of our corrupted system
The FCC and Trump want to control everything
We hold dear so we must fight back
Were not bowing to corruption
We'll rise for our freedom.
It's time we come together as one
Uphold justice and freedom
To bring back order
Save our country
From the darkness
Let's repeal the FCC.
Repeal the FCC
Take them down
Turn the vote around
Pass the bill to save the net
So let's come together
To repeal the FCC.
Generation Opportunity Joins Internet Independence Coalition
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Generation Opportunity joined the Internet Independence Coalition, an online campaign to build grassroots support for the restoration of Internet Independence: the freedom to create, express, and innovate online without asking for permission. Generation Opportunity’s endorsement follows that of the Niskanen Center, American Commitment, Protect Internet Freedom, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, MediaFreedom.org, Less Government, and the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
The website allows visitors to sign a petition in support of the principles of Internet independence, including permissionless innovation, unfettered competition, and privacy. The declaration will be sent to the signers’ representatives in Congress.
Generation Opportunity spokeswoman Patrice Lee issued the following statement:
The Internet differentiates the Millennial generation from all of those that came before us. It has led to advances in life-altering technology and economic development. The advent of the Internet has spurred the globalization of human knowledge and interconnectedness. But, unfortunately, politicians in D.C. are pursuing policies that stifle innovation.
In order to foster the advancement of the Internet, Washington should encourage competition and choice while protecting digital privacy rights. Generation Opportunity is excited to work with the Internet Independence Coalition to restore these principles.
The Declaration of Internet Independence reads:
The Internet is the greatest free-market success story in history. What began as a government-funded research project took off only when private entrepreneurs were freed to invest and innovate. … Internet independence brought us unprecedented prosperity and freedom, but we can’t trust the FCC to write the next chapter. Tell Congress to restore Internet Independence!
The petition also lays out the six principles of Internet independence:
Permissionless Innovation: The freedom to create, express, and innovate online without having to ask for permission.
Competition: The ideal way to ensure consumers get the best prices, speeds and services from Internet access providers.
Consumer Protection: Keep us safe from truly harmful practices online without giving regulators a blank check to smother innovation before it happens.
Access: Encourage the investment needed to bring Internet access to the four billion people who don’t yet have it — and to keep upgrading it for everyone everywhere.
Separation of Net & State: Cut red tape at the federal, state and local levels to allow private providers to cheaply deploy fiber and other new Internet access technology.
Privacy: Quit snooping on the innocent! Government surveillance must require a warrant, probable cause and due process.
TechFreedom leads a group of investors and entrepreneurs intervening against the FCC in pending litigation in the DC Circuit. The “Internet Independence Intervenors” include cloud service provider CARI.net and entrepreneurs Scott Banister, Jeff Pulver, Daniel Berninger, Charles Giancarlo, David Frankel, and Wendell Brown — all of whom all harmed by the FCC’s radical re-interpretation of the Communications Act to claim sweeping new powers in the Open Internet Order issued in February.
About Generation Opportunity:
Generation Opportunity is a national, non-partisan organization advocating for economic opportunity for young people through less government and more freedom.
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, TechFreedom launched an online campaign to build grassroots support for the restoration of Internet Independence: the freedom to create, express, and innovate online without asking for permission. The website allows visitors to sign a petition in support of the principles of Internet independence, including permissionless innovation, unfettered competition, and privacy. The declaration will be sent to the signers’ representatives in Congress.
The Declaration of Internet Independence reads:
The Internet is the greatest free-market success story in history. What began as a government-funded research project took off only when private entrepreneurs were freed to invest and innovate. … Internet independence brought us unprecedented prosperity and freedom, but we can’t trust the FCC to write the next chapter. Tell Congress to restore Internet Independence!
The petition also lays out the six principles of Internet independence:
Permissionless Innovation: The freedom to create, express, and innovate online without having to ask for permission.
Competition: The ideal way to ensure consumers get the best prices, speeds and services from Internet access providers.
Consumer Protection: Keep us safe from truly harmful practices online without giving regulators a blank check to smother innovation before it happens.
Access: Encourage the investment needed to bring Internet access to the four billion people who don’t yet have it — and to keep upgrading it for everyone everywhere.
Separation of Net & State: Cut red tape at the federal, state and local levels to allow private providers to cheaply deploy fiber and other new Internet access technology.
Privacy: Quit snooping on the innocent! Government surveillance must require a warrant, probable cause and due process.
“With Internet business plans and practices under the microscope of regulation and ‘advisory’ reviews, consumers may never know the innovations they miss out on,” said Daniel Berninger, an Internet architect and VoIP pioneer. “Restoring Internet independence means restoring the environment that enabled trillions of dollars of economic growth and the proliferation of apps and services we enjoy in our daily lives.”
TechFreedom leads a group of investors and entrepreneurs intervening against the FCC in pending litigation in the DC Circuit. The “Internet Independence Intervenors” include cloud service provider CARI.net and entrepreneurs Scott Banister, Jeff Pulver, Daniel Berninger, Charles Giancarlo, David Frankel, and Wendell Brown — all of whom all harmed by the FCC’s radical re-interpretation of the Communications Act to claim sweeping new powers in the Open Internet Order issued in February.
Join us Friday, July 17th to hear from entrepreneurs, advocates, and policy experts who want to restore Internet Independence. Meet the innovators whose products and business models hang in the balance of the FCC’s discretion, and learn what an Internet dependent on government will mean for consumers. The event will also be livestreamed (stay tuned for details).
About TechFreedom:
TechFreedom is a non-profit, non-partisan technology policy think tank. We work to chart a path forward for policy-makers towards a bright future where technology enhances freedom, and freedom enhances technology.
Watch the livestream here on 7/17 at 5:00pm PT (8:00pm ET).
WASHINGTON, DC - Internet Independence is the freedom to create, express, and innovate online without asking for permission. It’s what's made the Internet so great, and what will allow it to continue to evolve.
“No regulation should stand in between an innovative idea and its execution, between companies and customers. And yet the FCC recently adopted heavy-handed regulations to govern the Internet, rules that put regulators and lawyers, not innovators and engineers, in charge of the online world.
“The Internet is the greatest free-market innovation in history, and it was made possible in part by a bipartisan, decades-old commitment that the government would let the free market flourish. I hope the FCC will someday restore that consensus and focus its efforts on what really benefits consumers—namely, more broadband investment, deployment, and competition.”
FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai, Keynote Speaker
Join us Friday, July 17th to hear from entrepreneurs, advocates, and policy experts who want to restore Internet Independence. Meet the innovators whose products and business models hang in the balance of the FCC’s discretion, and learn what an Internet dependent on government will mean for consumers. The event will also be livestreamed (stay tuned for details).
The event will start with a fireside chat featuring FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai, followed by a panel discussion.
Please RSVP here.
Where:
Park Central San Francisco
50 3rd St
San Francisco, CA 94103
When:
Friday, July 17th
Registration: 5:00pm to 5:30pm
Fireside chat w/ Comm’r Pai: 5:30pm to 5:45pm
Panel Discussion: 5:50pm to 6:30pm
Who:
Keynote: Ajit Pai, FCC Commissioner
Moderator: Michelle Quinn, San Jose Mercury News
Panelists:
Scott Banister, Email pioneer and Silicon Valley “angel” investor
Daniel Berninger, VoIP pioneer and Independent Communication Architect
Berin Szoka, President of TechFreedom
Twitter Hashtag: #Reboot2015
###
We can be reached for comment at [email protected]. See more of our work on net neutrality and Title II, including:
“3 Reasons Why We’re Challenging the FCC in Court,” a statement summarizing our motion asking the court to overturn the FCC’s reclassification of broadband providers as Title II common carriers
Coalition letter urging Congress to rein in the FCC’s authority on Internet regulation
“A Third Way on Muni Broadband: Governments Must Remove Barriers to Private Broadband Deployment,” a statement from TechFreedom
DontBreakThe.Net, TechFreedom-led grassroots, coalition effort against Title II
Highlights from legal and policy comments filed by TechFreedom and the International Center for Law & Economics on Internet regulation, and our reply comments
About TechFreedom:
TechFreedom is a non-profit, non-partisan technology policy think tank. We work to chart a path forward for policy-makers towards a bright future where technology enhances freedom, and freedom enhances technology.
About Lincoln Labs:
Lincoln Labs is made up of entrepreneurs and technologists who believe that technology and innovation are key ingredients to a more free society. Both online and offline, we actively bring together the most thoughtful minds from the worlds of tech, policy and politics to discuss how best to solve our biggest problems. Through hackathons, meetups, and policy discussions Lincoln Labs is creating and supporting a community of like-minded individuals who desire to advance liberty in the public square with the use of technology.
About Ajit Pai:
Ajit Pai was nominated to the Federal Communications Commission by President Obama. He was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate and took office in 2012 for a term concluding in 2016. Commissioner Pai has wide experience in the public and private sectors. His public sector career spans all branches of the federal government. He served in the FCC’s Office of General Counsel; at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and Office of Legal Policy; at the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee; and as a law clerk to a federal judge. With respect to the private sector, he was a Partner in the communications practice of the law firm Jenner & Block and worked as Associate General Counsel at Verizon Communications Inc. Commissioner Pai graduated with honors from Harvard University and from the University of Chicago Law School, where he served on the University of Chicago Law Review.
About Scott Banister:
Scott Banister was an early pioneer in the email business, founding ListBot, an email list hosting service, in 1998, and selling the company to Microsoft in 2001. Banister has since worked with other start-ups as a board member and investor, including PayPal and eVoice, which offered the first email-enabled home voicemail service and which was acquired by AOL in 2001. In 2000, Banister co-founded IronPort, an email appliance provider that was acquired in 2007 by Cisco for $830 million. Banister is currently a leading “angel” investor to a variety of Silicon Valley startups.
About Daniel Berninger:
Daniel Berninger is a Washington, DC based independent communication architect. Daniel's work started with the original assessment of VoIP at Bell Laboratories in 1995, technical contributions to the founding of Free World Dialup in 1996, and continued at VocalTec Communications where he led the first VoIP deployments at Verizon , HP , and NASA. He won a VON Pioneer Award as co-founder of the VON Coalition. Daniel also led the founding teams, created the business model, and recruited the CEO's for ITXC (NASDAQ: ITXC/Tom Evslin) and Vonage (NYSE: VG/Jeffrey Citron).
About Michelle Quinn:
Michelle Quinn is a Business Columnist at the San Jose Mercury News. Prior to her current role, she was the Silicon Valley correspondent at Politico covering tech policy and politics. She has also covered the tech industry at the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. She was a blogger for the New York Times. She lives in Oakland with her husband and two children.
