One of the most talked about topic as 2017 came to a close was net neutrality. For those who are not aware, net neutrality is the law of the land when it comes to the internet. Coming into play during the Obama administration, net neutrality gives internet users rights and protections so that large companies cannot scam users and cheat them out of the service they are using. The internet and large companies have abided by net neutrality for years, but on December 14th, 2017, Congress voted to revoke net neutrality. While this does not mean there would be an immediate effect felt among internet users, it does give large companies, such as Verizon and AT&T, the freedom to control the speed and access given to internet users. For example, before December 14th when net neutrality was in place, companies were not able to purposefully slow your internet access to make you pay more because net neutrality protected internet users from such acts. Now that net neutrality is not protecting internet users, large companies have the ability to purposefully slow service or hinder any internet access because there are no protections against it. Even though Congress as approved the removal of net neutrality, there are many activists fighting the removal. A website has even been constructed to gain awareness of the issue and interest in protecting the rights of internet users.
Large companies have already reacted and responded to the announcement of the removal of net neutrality. Netflix was one of the companies that addressed the issue and reassured the public that they would continue to follow net neutrality and that the company supports its users.
Many other companies have openly argued for keeping net neutrality rules. Dozens of companies drafted a letter that was sent to Ajit Pai, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Pai was responsible for the campaign to end net neutrality, which is why many complaints about the decision were directed to him. In the letter, the companies address their concerns that would become reality if net neutrality rules were revoked (the letter was sent before the decision was made). Many of the companies included in the letter were smaller businesses that would be affected the most by the repeal of net neutrality, but other larger companies were eager to participate, such as Pinterest, Reddit, TeamSnap, and Airbnb.
Some companies, however, support the repeal of net neutrality. In most instances, the companies that are for the repeal of net neutrality are larger companies that service a large proportion of internet users, such as AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast. With net neutrality rules no longer in place, larger internet companies would have the ability to restrict access and slow usage, thus leaving internet users everywhere vulnerable. While AT&T and Verizon have vaguely addressed the outcome of the net neutrality repeal, both companies have supported the campaign to get rid of net neutrality for years. The companies may say that they want “an open internet”, but the decision is in their hands, giving them the power to control the future of free, open internet.
When I first heard about net neutrality, I didn’t understand what it was at all. All I knew was that, if net neutrality rules were repealed, internet companies would have the ability to slow connection, charge more for the same services that existed during the time period of net neutrality, and that the internet would not be as open as it once was. I mostly knew about what would affect me, but I wanted to learn more about it. I asked my dad if he knew what it would mean if net neutrality was repealed, but he had barely heard anything about it. The conversation ended with me explaining what I knew about it to him. Most of the information I had learned was from Twitter and seeing tweets from people who were outraged by a specific part of the repeal of net neutrality, which meant I never saw the full picture. My dad, because he is not active on Twitter, was not able to see some of the specific ways repealing net neutrality would affect internet users.
For an issue that is so controversial and so important these days, it made me nervous that my dad, the person I always go to about current issues, didn’t know much about it. It got me thinking that what if other people didn’t know much about it either? The letter written to Chairman Pai specifically talked about how repealing net neutrality would affect small businesses. I am sure that small businesses are aware of the dangers of repealing net neutrality and how it could damage their business, but what if someone didn’t know that? Their business could suddenly plummet and the business owner wouldn’t know what happened. Just thinking about the different ways repealing net neutrality could harm various people made me think about how important it is to stay up to date on current issues and be well-informed about certain decisions that are being made in the government. Even if the decision doesn’t affect you specifically, it might affect people around you. The more informed you are, the better off you will be in society, especially with something as important as the internet.
I really like the way that you broke down the issue of net neutrality. I definitely got swept up in the protest against the repeal of this policy and signed one of the petitions to keep it that went viral. It is really unnerving the way the American public can, for the most part, agree on what policy should look like, express that, and then the direct opposite occurs. The website FreedomHouse gives a rate of how “free” every state is, and the United States has the lowest rating of the majority of our allies. In the breakdown of why that is, is the huge disconnect between the will of the American people and the actions in government. In my lifetime I have not really ever seen such a lack of consideration for the ideas and beliefs of the American public. Net Neutrality seems to be the latest in a myriad of disappointments.
I too have been very interested in net neutrality, since our class has grown up in an increasingly digital age. The information I have gathered seems pretty frightening honestly. Many arguments for removing it, for example, seem to be flawed. The main concept, in fact, concerns me. Many large companies are pointing out that we live in a capitalist society and companies should be free from government control. Although I agree with this statement, it applies so much differently in practice. Our economy is by no means a perfectly capitalist one with no regulations on companies. We have had years of our history where we suffered under monopolies, hence our introduction of antitrust laws and other regulations. There is a certain point where we cannot simply leave our economy up to companies and hope they do the right thing–they are a business model, and their primary goal is typically to earn positive profits. I don’t fully understand this argument that seems to say it is okay for government to take their hands off of companies, when it will so clearly hurt a majority of consumers in America. The other argument I’ve heard pop up supporting the removal of net neutrality is, “we were fine before net neutrality.” I agree, we were doing well, but you cannot tell me that America before the Obama administration is the same America we are living in today, for so many reasons. The most relevant reason, however, is how much our digital society has grown. We cannot assume that the lack of net neutrality now will be as acceptable as it was before. I truly hope the changes that could occur from removing net neutrality would not be as drastic as many claim, but if you are interested in not having to see changes at all, I would definitely head over to Battle for the Net, which has been flooding U.S. representatives with emails and calls since this decision was announced.