You have probably heard the term before, and chances are the term slipped by you. It’s easy enough to understand, but it is has been buried beneath a swarm of technical terms and lingo, mostly to keep you bored and ignorant. The term is net neutrality, and it is an issue that will affect everyone today.
Recently, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) passed a policy known as net neutrality by a 3-2 vote. Net neutrality is defined as the principle that Internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, without favoring or blocking particular products or websites.
Communications companies have been attempting to put a stranglehold on the free and open Internet. The idea that started the backlash was that companies like Verizon, Comcast and AT&T would be allowed to cut the Internet into fast and slow lanes.
An Internet provider could slow down its competitors' content or block political opinions from those with whom they didn’t agree.
ISPs could charge extra fees to the few content companies that could afford to pay for preferential treatment relegating everyone else to a slower tier of service, thus dismantling the equal playing field for all and dictating what content you were allowed to view.
Luckily for everyone, the FCC has taken a great step in preserving the open Internet and making it possible for small online businesses to stay open, and protects our right to view whatever content we choose.
I don’t know about you, but I would never allow my phone company to dictate who I can call and charge me separate prices for different people, and so it is with your Internet providers.
Some politicians, however, feel that this is yet another over step of the government; conveniently not telling the whole story as to why it is absolutely necessary to have regulations in place, so that corporations do not strangle our free speech.
What some fail to realize is that big government may not be a favorable idea in all areas, but they serve a vital purpose in cases like these. If you think that giant corporations care about the everyday man’s wellbeing, then you are sadly mistaken.
They care about profit and their bottom line. I, for one, am glad that the big bad government came with their regulations in the form of the FCC to protect the Internet as we know it today, and my wallet thanks them as well.
