Facebook and Google will participate in next week’s big net neutrality protest

Facebook Prineville Data Center Vjeran Pavic
Facebook and Google have confirmed their participation in a wide-scale net neutrality protest scheduled for July 12th, according to Fortune. The protest is being called the “Internet-wide Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality,” or “Day of Action” and “Battle for the Net” for short. It’s designed to be an illustrative example of the breadth and magnitude of opposition to the Federal Communication Commission’s recent regulatory behavior (or lack thereof) that open internet advocates fear could roll back years of legislative progress, in a fashion similar to the SOPA and PIPA protests of 2012.

It’s unclear how Facebook or Google plan to participate. However, a number of other tech companies have also confirmed their support, including Amazon, Netflix, Reddit, Mozilla, Kickstarter, and Spotify. “Websites, Internet users, and online communities will come together to sound the alarm about the FCC’s attack on net neutrality,” reads the protest’s official website. “We’ll provide tools for everyone to make it super easy for your followers / visitors to take action. From the SOPA blackout to the Internet Slowdown, we’ve shown time and time again that when the Internet comes together, we can stop censorship and corruption.”

The protest organizers, which include activism groups like Fight for the Future and Demand Progress, have suggestions for these alarm-sounding measures that include everything from in-app push notifications and letter-sending website prompts to profile pic alternatives for Facebook users to deploy. Some companies, like voice chat app Discord and publishing platform Medium, have already confirmed they’ll be using in-app alerts and other means to send the message out.