According to this article, Net Neutrality is the idea that everyone has a right to an “open internet”, where everyone may communicate freely online. This may seem intuitive, but there are special interests that stand in the way of that. From the article, Net Neutrality, “means an Internet that enables and protects free speech. It means that Internet service providers should provide us with open networks — and should not block or discriminate against any applications or content that ride over those networks. Just as your phone company shouldn’t decide who you can call and what you say on that call, your ISP shouldn’t be concerned with the content you view or post online.” Thus, your internet service provider cannot limit what you access or do online based on a pre-purchased set of websites or categories that you agreed to. Also from the article, without net neutrality, “cable and phone companies could carve the Internet into fast and slow lanes,” meaning they could slow down or restrict competitors’ content or block it altogether. This would mean the ISP ultimately has complete control over what an individual can and cannot see or do on the internet.
After reading more about this issue, I support net neutrality and the right for people to communicate and act online how they choose without limitations. By allowing anyone to control the flow of information through this channel, we give them incredible amounts of power. For instance, a large company could shut out competition from smaller business by starving their websites or services on the internet. By not allowing people to see their service, they could shut down that company. Implementing or enforcing Net Neutrality is simple: don’t allow any restriction the internet at all. By not playing with what can be seen and what can’t we eliminate the chance for any possible censoring of material or information. I don’t believe that Net Neutrality burdens companies as much as they would have it believe, and at any rate the infrastructure and technology used by those companies has not improved to follow the current rate of technological advancement. It’s about time they caught up. Those companies saved money by not improving their infrastructure or technology, and now they want to make sure they don’t have to ever improve at their own expense. In markets where Google Fiber has invaded, customers are leaving ISPs in droves for the improved service that Google Fiber can provide. The archaic ways and dealings of ISPs and the companies that want to do away with net neutrality need to change with the times and catch up to today’s competition and technology. Consumers want the latest and best from those companies, and they have not gotten it in a long while.
The internet today has become a massive wealth of information and provides unrivaled capabilities for communication to any and all who have access to it. Fair access to that resource should be allowed to everyone, untainted and uncensored. I do not approve of reclassification or any form of altering the current status of net neutrality for any reason.
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