Our Ability to Communicate Online and through our Mobile Devices Is at Stake!

In the digital age, so much of our personal, professional and political lives depends on equal access to the open Internet. Keeping the Internet free and open is essential to fighting discrimination, supporting our businesses, educating our children, organizing in our communities and speaking freely online.

Phone and cable companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon are doing everything they can to turn the Internet into a space they can control. The members of Latinos for Internet Freedom are working together to fight back and achieve universal access to an open Internet that is free from discrimination.

More than any other demographic group, Latinos rely on mobile phones to communicate and access the Internet. An affordable connection to a mobile network is essential; more and more, we use mobile devices to seek and maintain employment, to access emergency services and to stay in touch with family and friends.And our children use these devices to do homework and apply for college

But companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast have convinced the FCC to break the Internet in two by stripping away most Internet protections for mobile users. This means phone companies can now interfere with the ability of wireless users to access the Internet or online applications of their choice.

And some of these companies are challenging even the FCC’s watered-down rules in Congress and the courts. They don’t want Internet users to have any protections whatsoever or any recourse if they get blocked or wronged online.

We’re calling on the Obama administration, Congress and the FCC to protect our online rights.

We want to ensure the Internet remains a powerful, democratic tool enabling access to education, jobs and health care — and allowing us to fight for social justice. To control our own destiny and participate as equals in the digital age, our voices must be heard.