Don't Say We Didn't Warn You: The Internet Slowdown Is Coming …

If you’re reading this you probably already know that the fight for Net Neutrality is coming to a head. So here’s the deal: September will be epic, and it will all start with the Internet Slowdown.

On Sept. 10, Free Press and our partners at Battle for the Net will launch the Internet Slowdown — 24 hours that will show the world what the Web will look like if the sites we know and love are stuck in the slow lane.

This is going to be huge, and we want you to be part of it.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal to allow discrimination online is a disaster. Everyone from the companies to the artists to Congress to the president knows that we need real Net Neutrality to prevent broadband providers from discriminating against content or applications.

When Wheeler released his proposal earlier this year, support for his plan was scarce. Net Neutrality advocates from across the country slammed the rules, and people camped outside the agency’s doors in protest. Hundreds gathered at rallies in D.C. and at FCC field offices across the country.

Four months later, support for Wheeler’s plan is basically nonexistent.

In July, protesters greeted President Obama on fundraising trips to the Bay Area and Los Angeles. Activists have turned out in record numbers to lobby their members of Congress. And don’t forget the millions of comments people filed in opposition to the FCC’s proposal — and in support of Title II reclassification. The influx crashed the agency’s website (twice).

The momentum has been building for months and on Sept. 10 companies, individuals and websites will inundate the Internet with our message: We demand real Net Neutrality and nothing less.

So consider yourself warned: The Internet Slowdown is coming. Now we need you to pitch in. Have a website or blog? Put the sloading (get it? slow + loading?) code up on your site. Or help spread the word by sharing this image on social media.

#TeamInternet can win this thing, but only if we all show up to play the game.