US tech giants plan 'day of action' in support of net neutrality

12 July reserved by Amazon, Reddit, DuckDuckGo, Mozilla, Vimeo, Github and others to lobby against lifting of net neutrality rules

Major US technology companies are banding together for a 'day of action' to support net neutrality and to oppose attempts by the White House and the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to water down rules.

The 12 July protest will feature banners on the home page of companies including Amazon, Reddit and Mozilla, along with the likes of Fight for the Future, warning users of the dangers should the FCC continue with its plans to repeal net neutrality regulations.

Originally set in stone in 2014 after a similar campaign, the new administration has made it a priority to dismantle net neutrality rules which would pave the way for paid-for "fast lanes" on the internet.

New FCC chairman Ajit Pai, appointed by the Trump administration, has said he wants to "take a weed whacker" to the current rules.

The protest website says: "The FCC wants to destroy net neutrality and give big cable companies control over what we see and do online. If they get their way, they'll allow widespread throttling, blocking, censorship, and extra fees. On July 12th, the Internet will come together to stop them."

It goes on to explain: "Websites, Internet users, and online communities will come together to sound the alarm about the FCC's attack on net neutrality. 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. Now, we have to do it again!"

Other confirmed participants include Vimeo, Github, Y Combinator, BitTorrent, Creative Commons, DuckDuckGo, Greenpeace, The Internet Archive, Nextdoor, with more being added.

Companies, tech influencers and start-ups are among those being asked to join the fight.

Although this is a USA issue, because so many of the world's internet servers are based in the US, it will have an inevitable global effect, not to mention setting a precedent for other countries to follow suit.

The UK is currently committed to net neutrality as part of an EU-wide agreement.