REMARKS OF
COMMISSIONER JESSICA ROSENWORCEL
“INTERNET FREEDOM NOW: 
THE FUTURE OF CIVIL RIGHTS DEPENDS ON NET NEUTRALITY”
WASHINGTON, DC
NOVEMBER 1, 2017
Good afternoon.  Thank you to Congressman Ellison, Congressman Khanna, and my 
colleague Commissioner Clyburn for your eloquent call to action.  It is an intimidating honor to 
follow you here today.  
I adore that you’ve called this gathering “Internet Freedom Now.”  After all, it was more 
than half a century ago that Martin Luther King, Jr. stood only a few blocks from here and spoke 
of “the fierce urgency of now.”  He was talking, of course, about civil rights.  
I don’t know about you, but I feel a lot of fierce urgency these days.  I feel that there are 
things that urgently need attention, that urgently need a voice, that urgently need a ruckus.  I 
think net neutrality is one of those things.  
Here’s why: Our Internet economy is the envy of the world.  And what produced this 
dynamic engine of civic and commercial opportunity is a foundation of openness.
That openness is revolutionary.  It means creating without permission, building 
community beyond geography, organizing without physical constraints, consuming content you 
want when and where you want it, and cultivating ideas not just around the corner but around the 
world.
I believe it is essential that we sustain this foundation of openness—and that is why I 
support net neutrality.
It took ten years of policymaking and three trips to court, but the Commission found a 
home for net neutrality in the Communications Act.  Last year, in a 184-page opinion, the 
agency’s net neutrality policies were clearly and unequivocally upheld.  
If only the story ended here.
Even though our net neutrality policies are now legally viable and wildly popular, the 
leadership at the Commission wants to revisit Internet openness.  It has started a proceeding that 
tears at the foundation of net neutrality.  It has proposed cutting the rules we have and instead 
offering our broadband providers the power to favor sites, content, and ideas; the power to 
discriminate with our traffic; and the power to become censors and gatekeepers for all that is 
online.  
That’s troubling.  Because I’m not ready to roll back the priorities we fought for.  I’m not 
ready to give up on Internet openness.  I’m not ready to retire the connectivity that has made so 
much online activism possible.  
2If you want an example, look no further than what happened during the last 14 days with 
the #MeToo movement.  A decade ago, activist Tarana Burke created #MeToo to communicate 
with young women of color who survived sexual assault, so they would know they were not 
alone.  Two weeks ago, it went viral as women and men used the hashtag to raise awareness 
about sexual assault and harassment.  
But it did more than just raise awareness.  It ignited a national dialogue to support 
survivors and to hold those responsible accountable.  Women and men from all walks of life 
posted their experiences online. We heard from actresses and actors, Senators, work colleagues, 
school classmates, friends, and family members.  Many of them were sharing their stories for the 
first time—taking comfort from a broader community who let them know that they are not alone, 
that the sear and shame of these experiences is more common than we think, and the need to fix 
what brought them about greater than ever.    
By last week the #MeToo movement was everywhere.  It reached 85 countries and 
resulted in postings, commentary, investigations—and real change.   
This is the civil rights promise of our new digital square.  Rolling back net neutrality will 
curb that square.  It will provide our broadband providers with the power to decide what voices 
we amplify, which sites we visit, what connections we make, and what communities we create.  
We can’t let that happen.
I feel some fierce urgency about this—and I bet you do, too.  Because if you believe, as I 
do, that the future belongs to the connected—then I hope you will lend your voice to this issue. It 
merits a fight, it deserves a ruckus, it needs all that you’ve got.  So bring it—and help me show 
my colleagues just how important net neutrality is.  
Thank you.