Net neutrality. Those words have been flying around so much these days as the FCC, Federal Communication Commision, repealed the rules that protected net neutrality and prevented internet providers from charging more for faster and higher quality internet and charging more for faster streaming and downloads.
The rules for net neutrality were set up in 2015 under the Obama administration which were intended to protect the consumers as more and more people headed towards the internet. They were also meant to protect new and small companies so that they could sell their goods and distribute information without restrictions from companies with broadband internet.
The chairman of the F.C.C., Ajit Pai, on repealing net neutrality said that the transparency would help to prevent wrongdoing as it would require broadband companies to say if they were blocking, slowing down, or setting up fast lanes for certain traffic allowing the buyers to know what was happening and allowing them to switch companies.
Comcast, AT&T, and other major internet providers said they won’t engage in most forms of paid prioritization, and this is most likely due to the strong opposition to the net neutrality and the challenges being made against it. Any changes should be subtle and most likely won’t happen for another year according to telecom experts. It would be quite foolish do anything else otherwise.
So why is it so important? Well, one thing the repealing of net neutrality means that internet providers can start charging you more for faster streaming and downloads, and they can also start blocking off certain websites or charging you extra for access to them. For example, if there is a website that talks poorly of AT&T, the company could block or slow down their customers access to that site or ask them to pay extra for websites like Netflix or Hulu.
It could also mean that internet provider companies could get paid extra for “fast lanes” that would give faster delivery of content to companies who can afford to pay more. Meaning that smaller or newer websites wouldn’t be able to afford these fees and as a result, wouldn’t be able to communicate very well with their customers or supporters.
Luckily there are already lawsuits heading for the F.C.C., including by public interest groups like Public Knowledge and National Hispanic Media Coalition and from state attorneys generals, like New York, Pennsylvania, and California. The public interest groups encourage people to contact their state representatives or Congress itself to tell them to vote against the repeal of net neutrality.