Everyone loves the Internet. After all, where else can you find new recipes, cat videos, craft ideas, and much more, along with a way to connect with anyone in the world at any time?
However, the Internet, as we know, is in grave danger—unless we do something to save it.
On December 14, 2017, the FCC plans on getting rid of net neutrality, which is something that is going to have disastrous consequences for Americans everywhere.
Now, net neutrality is not a Democrat-Republican issue. It is beneficial for all of us to try and save it.
Net neutrality is essentially what allows people to use Google, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Netflix, Instagram, Pinterest, Amazon, and literally every other website for free. That’s because net neutrality prevents internet providers, such as Verizon, Spectrum, and Comcast from charging users for using those sites.
According to Steven Salzberg in “When the FFC Kills Net Neutrality, Here’s What Your Internet Could Look Like,” these internet service providers will be able to bundle websites the same way they bundle cable TV channels. And everyone knows how “excellent” the service is for cable TV that costs an arm and a leg. This ability to treat the Internet like it’s cable is the reason that the only ones excited about ending net neutrality are the ISPs- like Verizon.
Tech giants like Google and Twitter and Facebook have a major impact on our economy, if people aren’t using those sites, then their stock suffers, which can, in turn, cause our economy to suffer.
It’s not just the working man that will be affected negatively if the FCC chooses to get rid of net neutrality.
Politicians won’t have easy ways to reach out to their constituents, which will hurt them come election time.
Coal miners in Appalachia, ranchers in the west, and factory workers in the Rust Belt aren’t going to be very willing to pay to use Twitter just to read President Trump’s tweets when they have other things to worry about paying for, such as the rising cost of healthcare for their families and education for their children.
Net neutrality has to be saved if we as Americans want to keep using the Internet way we want to; otherwise, what we’re able to do on the internet will be determined by our service providers- even down to the search engine we use.
For example, Verizon owns Yahoo, which means that if Verizon provides your Internet, you’re going to have to use Yahoo instead of Google, unless you’re willing to shell out the extra money.
Furthermore, creator-based sites such as the Odyssey, FanFiction.net, Wattpad, and others will suffer greatly or may even be shut down, as creators and audiences alike will not be able to access them if they are not willing to pay.
So if you like the Internet— whether you use it to read President Trump’s 3:00 a.m. tweets, to watch cat videos, to connect with people on Facebook, to shop, or to share your stories, articles, or artwork with the world— then help stop the FCC from destroying net neutrality.
Call your Congressman. Call your Senator. Tweet at President Trump and point out how this will affect him personally. Contact Ajit Pai, chairman of the FCC, and tell him to save net neutrality. Sign petitions. Do something or else the Internet as we know it is gone.
If you would like to learn more about net neutrality and why it is important, watch John Oliver’s piece on it: Net Neutrality II.
Together, we can save the Internet.
