"It seemed impossible a year ago because if you made a power map, you’d have seen a modest, courageous coalition of small web companies, political activists, and public interest groups on the one hand, and the biggest monopolists on the other. The biggest organizational players in support of Title II classification were groups that did not exist 15 years ago.
Free Press, founded in 2003, played a critical role, providing both the moral backbone and a generous, collaborative spirit that enabled hundreds of smaller organizations to join. Fight for the Future (of which Teachout is a board member) doesn’t even have office space, but created its viral videos depicting a slow-Internet future from a house in rural Massachussetts. Demand Progress was founded in 2010 and provided the bulk of the in-D.C. lobbying muscle (their disclosures say they spent $15,000 on lobbying in 2014—an amount the cable companies probably spend in 30 minutes). And one of the key players, Marvin Ammori, acted as general counsel for all the groups, advising them on policy details and making connections among groups, companies, and policymakers. He worked pro bono."
- Date Published:02/09/2015
- Original Publication:The Daily Beast