Pornhub, Redtube and Youporn join net neutrality protest in the 'battle for the internet'

Sites collectively attract over 50 million users a day

Participating sites will display fake loading bars to illustrate what a slowed down internet might look like (BattleForTheNet)

With Reddit, Vimeo, Tumblr, Mozilla and more already on board, the BattleForTheNet campaign got another big boost today as porn giants Pornhub, Redtube and Youporn also promised to display "in your face" messages promoting net neutrality on 10 September's 'day of action'.

"We'll be displaying an official widget from battleforthenet.com and we won't be shutting down or streaming your porn slower," a spokesperson for the sites announced on Reddit. "There will be a big in your face message that users will need to close. We hope to reach around 50million people on Sept 10th."

The campaign stands against a potential "internet fast lane" spearheaded by Comcast, Verizon, Time Warner Cable and AT&T (which it sees as 'Team Cable' as opposed to 'Team Internet'), and to dramatise what a slowed-down internet might look like, participating sites are expected to display banners and pop-ups that mimic loading wheels.

"Cable companies are… attacking the Internet - their one competitor and our only refuge - with plans to charge websites arbitrary fees and slow (to a crawl) any sites that won't pay up," battleforthenet.com reads.

"If they win, the Internet dies.

The 'battle' pits Team Cable against Team Internet

"We believe in the free and open Internet, with no arbitrary fees or slow lanes for sites that can't pay." it continues.

"Each of us has taken taken a stand for 'Title II reclassification', the only option that lets the FCC stop Team Cable from breaking the key principles of the Internet we love."

One Reddit user suggested that the support of porn sites might be bad PR, but the Pornhub rep responded: "You're missing the point. We're putting a huge call to action to 10s of millions of Americans to do something about net neutrality.

Some US politicians have taken sides, while others remain on the fence (BattleForTheNet)

"It's not about what corporation stands up for what you believe in, but the everyday person. I'm not off to Washington to hand out porn DVDs to the FCC to sway them."

Other sites that will take part on 10 September include Etsy, Foursquare and Kickstarter, though Netflix, a vocal opponent of Comcast, has yet to sign up, along with giants like Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Vine, Instagram and Snapchat.