So recently, Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC for short, announced that they will begin to try and rollback rules and regulations made in 2015 which are in place to make the net a neutral place, but if it is reversed, it will allow internet providing companies to throttle the availability of the internet. To put it in a way more understandable, if net neutrality dies, it will become harder to access the internet, and if you want easier access, it's going to cost a lot more money. Getting lousier internet at a higher rate? Who in their right mind would want that?
Well, the answer is more obvious than one might think. The businesses that provide the internet do. These include Comcast and Verizon and have openly supported Pai's proposition. One statement which Comcast made has garnered a lot of attention lately, as it was about how Comcast would promise to not create internet fast lanes and to not throttle certain internet websites, but it gained so much attention because the same day that the FCC announced a repeal of net neutrality, that promise from Comcast has seemingly gone missing. This just shows that Comcast and these businesses are not the consumers' friend and that they are certainly on the wrong side of this battle.
The Ajit Pai has made the claim multiple times that he is doing this to create a more open, and free internet that is without government regulation, but that is not a good thing. If anybody wants an idea as to what this will look like, just look at the industry for cable providers currently, and you'll quickly realize that in most areas it is a barren wasteland with no real competition among within the industry, which just allows one company to run rampant as they please. THIS is exactly where the internet is headed if they are not stopped.
So, those reading this are probably thinking, "That doesn't sound too good, but what can I do about it?" Well at this point, for net neutrality to be saved, you have to voice yourself. Congress is voting on this December 14th, and it is safe to say that we need as many people defending the internet as we can get, and one way you can do that is to go www.battleforthenet.com, and there you can begin the process to make your voice be heard. It affects everyone, and it will hinder nearly every way we interact with one another.
There are plenty of news articles and youtube videos that you can look at to help you better prepare for what is coming, and please know that no matter what, this isn't a partisan issue, it's not democrats versus republicans or anything petty like. This is simply about standing up for what is right, and ensuring that we don't let them take our voice away.
