Something everyone can agree on is how important the Internet is. Whether it’s helped you get connected to people, given you the tools you needed to get a degree, or has it has just been the one place you can relax and have some mindless fun, the Internet has played a role in our lives one way or another. However, over the past few weeks, something’s been set in motion that could change the Internet and the way we experience it forever.

If you are not familiar with net neutrality, I highly recommend looking it up on a YouTube channel by the name Philip DeFranco. DeFranco is part of an independent media service who creates new videos about events going on in the world every day, Monday through Friday. It’s like the news expect DeFranco is completely uncensored and tries his hardest to keep the show unbiased and starts discussions and friendly debates in his comments section after every show. I first heard about the attack against net neutrality in this video published on November 21. In it, he begins by giving a brief description of what net neutrality is:

The idea behind net neutrality is that you have a free, fair, open Internet: you have a level playing field. It keeps the Internet service providers from being able to influence what people do online. In 2015, the FCC labeled broadband Internet a Title II which made it a utility. And this meant legislation could stop ISPs from throttling, creating paid ‘fast lanes’, any other control over broadband speeds (DeFranco).

In terms of the FCC, it’s a government agency that creates rules for the use of anything from cable to radio. And what’s been going on with net neutrality is that even though it has been strengthened and the Obama administration did a lot to add more laws to it, the FCC and its chairman Ajit Pai, appointed by Trump and also a former lawyer for Verizon, wants to repeal net neutrality. Now, what does this mean? Well…

Essentially, if net neutrality is taken away, that means large companies like Comcast and Verizon will be able to charge online platforms, like Netflix and Hulu, to get the “best speeds and quality,” but for a price. So, not only will we as consumers of these companies and users of these platforms be affected, but the platforms will have to pay a certain amount of money to give their users the best speeds possible. DeFranco also mentions these ISPs could create something like YouTube—their own version of this platform—and then they’d be able to limit the speed and quality their customers would get when using YouTube to promote their own platform. And what Ajit Pai plans to do by repealing net neutrality is that the market will be able to decide if these ISPs will be used by their customers: “the market will keep companies honest and fair and…no. You know how many people have Comcast and they don’t want Comcast but they have to have Comcast because there aren’t that many other options? […] The consumers can’t decide where the market when the market is that limited” (DeFranco). If Ajit Pai’s plan goes forward and gets approved, it supposedly will take the Internet from a utility rating to Title I:

And so, if that’s correct, the move would end the rules that stop the Internet Service Providers [(ISPs)] from blocking, slowing broadband speeds, creating paid fast lanes. The plan would also allows ISPs to choose for themselves whether or not to throttle or create fast lanes. But, as mentioned before, there would be a transparency rule included in the plan. This would require service providers to inform their customers on their practice of blocking or throttling. This would also get rid of the General Conduct Standard which was created in 2015 to allow the FCC to regulate the behavior of ISPs. Instead, the power of policing the ISPs would go to the FTC, the Federal Trade Commission. And while the FTC cannot stop the ISPs from throttling, they can hold them to whatever decision they announce on it (DeFranco).

Now, with all of this information, let’s break it down. If net neutrality does get repealed which, unfortunately, it looks like that might be happening on December 14, the big companies mentioned before like AT&T U-verse and Comcast will get even more power. With only so many options on ISPs now, customers will have to choose between the lesser of two evils or they just won’t have Internet at all. It also means small, up-and-coming companies could pretty much be bullied out of the business if they choose not to cooperate with these two ISPs.

Despite everything Ajit Pai has said in trying to make his appeal seem less terrifying than it actually is, it’s still incredibly troubling. If net neutrality is repealed, not only will the big companies win and get more power than they already have, but they will also be able to limit our Internet and how we use it. Net neutrality is an extremely important principle that makes the Internet fair and free. But, if it goes away like Ajit Pai and the ISPs want it to, the Internet will forever be changed.

However, there is something you can do. You can get in touch with your local officials and congressmen/women and tell them this is not okay. Call them, write letters, do whatever you think is necessary to keep net neutrality in place. The Internet is the one thing in the world people can enjoy freely, but if Ajit Pai’s plan gets voted on, that will change and its effects will be major.

Please, take a stand and make a difference. This is something so important that we all need to make sure it doesn’t happen.

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