Big Tech's Fight for Net Neutrality Moves Behind the Scenes

You might not be hearing much from big tech on net neutrality lately. But the likes of Google and Facebook are still invested in the fight behind the scenes. The Internet Association joined a legal battle to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's decision to revoke the Obama-era rules, as did the industry group Incompas, which includes smaller telecommunications companies as well as tech companies including Facebook, Netflix, Microsoft, and Twitter. "Their contribution is now purely litigation and very light on the political," says Electronic Frontier Foundation legislative counsel Ernesto Falcon.

Some net neutrality advocates argue that the biggest players could be doing more. "They are not deploying their full arsenal of tactics," says Matt Wood of the advocacy group Free Press. During the "Red Alert" campaign, tech companies like Etsy and Reddit placed banners and buttons on their sites alerting users to a Senate vote to preserve net neutrality, and encouraging them to contact their represenatives. The larger tech companies could have done the same and reached far more people. Wood says the companies might not think the legislation had much chance to pass. Although it passed the Senate with all Senate Democrats and Independents plus three Republicans voting in favor, the legislation faces longer odds in the House, where Democrats will need to win over more than 20 Republicans. And if it passes the House, it will still need approval from the President. The industry may also be picking its battles more selectively than in the past.