MoveOn, Free Press and other groups seeking tougher open Internet rules say their members will protest at 19 FCC field offices May 15, as well as at FCC headquarters in Washington, where the FCC is scheduled to vote on a new rule proposal from FCC chairman Tom Wheeler.
They argue that the Wheeler proposal "threatens to end the open Internet by creating a separate data fast-lane for those who can afford it."
Wheeler has insisted that the new rules would not allow that to happen. A revised draft makes clear that such a fast lane would be presumed to be a violation of a new commercially reasonable discrimination standard.
One concern is the discretion that would give a future FCC, with perhaps a different political majority, to decide what was and wasn't legal discrimination.
Planned protests include in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York, New Orleans and Philadelphia.
In an email to MoveOn members, the group was looking to drum up protestors for its headquarters even, the Rally to Save the Internet, which has been billed as an opportunity to "dance, drum and shout" their message.
