What is Net Neutrality and Why is it Important?

What is net neutrality?

     Net Neutrality is a set of rules and regulations that prevent internet service providers (ISP’s) from showing favoritism to specific content on the internet. It enforces that ISP’s not discriminate based on user, content, application, website, or platform. Net neutrality prevents ISP’s from slowing down, blocking, or charging extra money to specific websites or internet content.

Now that net neutrality has been repealed, what does that mean?

     I am not saying I know what will happen by any means. Although, some of the things that could have the potential to happen include, bandwidth throttling, content discrimination/favoritism, net bias, and tiered internet.

     Bandwidth throttling is best defined as ISP’s slowing down or speeding up of internet for a user. An ISP could now hold the capability of either slowing down or speeding up your internet based on how much you pay them for said service.

     Content discrimination/favoritism is basically how it sounds. ISP’s could now technically carry the right to dictate to a user or content creator what they can and what they cannot upload onto the internet.

     Net bias is the opposite of what net neutrality mandates. With the repeal of net neutrality, net bias has the potential to flourish. Net bias is the discrimination of users and content creators utilizing items such as price, and quality of content.

     Finally, tiered internet is a spectrum of tiers which a user or content creator can choose from that vary in price. These tiers are basically packages that include differing amenities. Examples of these packages could include,

*Basic Internet

*Social network internet

*content creator internet

Basically, tiered internet separates the internet's current content into separate packages that increase in price with the more amenities they include.

     Overall, all these things listed and defined above have the potential to become a reality with the retraction of net neutrality.

Why is this potentially a negative change?

     The repeal of net neutrality affects content creator’s freedom of speech. It does this by posing the potential of ISP’s being able to dictate what or how much they put in their content. The content restricted has the potential to be ideas or concepts the ISP does not agree with.

     Retraction of net neutrality also holds the potential to inhibit equal employment opportunity. It does this by giving the ISP’s rights to inhibit internet users based upon how much they pay. In other words, people such as, Youtubers and online shopping providers may have to pay more to produce the content they need to maintain their jobs. If these people cannot afford these charges they lose their employment. This goes for people who post content online in hopes of being discovered as well. Musicians, actors, artists, and writers who post their work online in hopes of getting discovered also will have to pay more money they potentially do not have. This prevents these people from having the same chances as someone who is already in the field or has more money to pay an ISP.

     In conclusion, these are the problems the repulsion of net neutrality could pose and how it could be disadvantageous to many people around the United States.  

#SaveNetNeutrality