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We are on the verge of loosing the most important, and non-partisan, communication tool at our disposal. Last year the Federal Communications Commission started dismantling “net neutrality” regulations designed to protect equal access to the internet. Without net neutrality, internet service providers (ISPs, such as Verizon, AT&T, Time Warner) are able to block content and slow internet speeds at their will. ISPs could block an individual’s blog in favor of an advertisement, or slow the speed of the small business website in favor of the bigger competitors.

Who supports net neutrality? The vast majority of people in the U.S. ­— 86 percent, Republican and Democrat (https://bit.ly/2M8VKhU), small businesses (https://bit.ly/2vpxKxb) and even some large ISPs (Vimeo, Mozilla). The US Senate has already acted to restore open internet rules, but the US House of Representatives must still act, before the end of the year. Write to Representative Labrador, ask him to change his position to reflect his constituency and let him know that all Americans deserve equal access to the internet; ask him to sign the discharge petition to force a vote on the Net Neutrality Congressional Review Act.

JEAN GERTH

Sagle