Something exciting happened this week in the magical world of the internet: a federal court ruled that high-speed internet service can now be defined as a utility, but what does that actually mean for us users of said magical place? This videowill provide you with a general synopses of the situation concerning net neutrality, but here’s the quick rundown: when you use the internet right now, all data is treated equal. This means that watching a cat video on YouTube is supposed to have just as much priority in the eyes of your internet service provider (ISP) as watching a completely different video on some lesser known site like Vimeo or Dailymotion. This is what we call net neutrality and there are two sides to this argument, those who are for it and those who are against it. Like most issues, net neutrality’s existence isn’t necessarily right wrong, it simply comes down to a matter of opinion. But as an advocate for net neutrality, allow me to shed some light on the subject.

Let’s get hypothetical: if net neutrality wasn’t in place then your ISP could make a “fast lane” for some of the more popular sites, such as YouTube or Netflix, allowing you to run into less of those pesky loading circles.

And while this sounds great for the average user, that’s basically where your benefits end and your problems begin. Now you have to deal with a middle man, your ISP, every time you want to access the internet, which only gives these already monopoly-like companies more power over everyone. Remember those “fast lanes” they promised? Those could cost you extra now. Want to stick with your regular internet service plan? That might not even be an option anymore. Are you starting to see some of the potential issues?

Let’s take a look at this from another perspective: content creation. If you decided today that you wanted to film a full length movie and put it in theaters across the country, what would you have to do? You would have to fight your way through the long established system of overly rich movie producers and advertisers just to get the chance show your creation to an audience. Then, assuming you’re even able to get your movie into more than a couple theaters, how in the world are you supposed to compete with huge production companies pumping out movies like "Captain America: Civil War?" The entire process just isn’t feasible.

But the internet and net neutrality means that your video is no less important than the videos that come from giants such as Netflix. The footing is equal and now you stand a chance at making a name for yourself. The other side to this is that, out of all the users of the internet, there aren’t really that many that are even remotely interested in creating content. However, this doesn’t mean that you as a non-creator shouldn’t take interest in this debate; the equality of the internet is arguably the sole reason why it became such a wonderful place. The introduction of inequality between content providers would lock in the content you are provided with.

Do you have any favorite YouTube channels? Popular creators such as PewDiePie, TheFineBros. and Vsauce had to start somewhere, and they couldn’t have gotten where they are today without net neutrality. If this same equality hadn’t been in place in 2004, we might still be using MySpace instead of Facebook, and sites like Reddit and PayPal would have never come to popularity. Here’s a keynote from 2014’s South by Southwest conference given by one of the creators behind the startup production company Rooster Teeth. In his talk, Burnie Burns tells the story behind their company’s popularity in the internet and gaming community and how they never would have been able to accomplish so much without neutrality. It’s a really interesting personal anecdote and I highly recommend you take the time to watch it.

So back to the federal court’s ruling I mentioned at the start, what does it actually mean? Well even though we’ve almost always had net neutrality in place, internet equality is something that can still be easily taken away from us. And while it’s widely apparent that internet service has basically become a household necessity nearly equivalent to that of water and electricity, it’s still not classified as a utility but rather a luxury service. As such, ISP’s are able to charge whatever they want with potentially discriminatory pricing.

Whether you agree with it or not, the ruling from the court is a major step forward for net neutrality, but that doesn’t mean this will be over anytime soon. So go forth and enjoy the internet with your newfound knowledge, and stay classy my fellow internet junkies.