Net Neutrality is in the news again. I’ve hesitated to write about it because I don’t have anything new to add. Today I gathered some of the links I find the most informative and helpful for everyone to understand why this is a very important topic.
What is net neutrality? In a net neutral world, all internet traffic would be delivered from the web server to the end user at the same rate no matter what. This open and accessible framework helped create the world we know today.
In the United States, the internet service providers (ISP) want to create a system that could discriminate the traffic speed based on the user, the website being visited, or even what is being viewed. However, it’s not really that simple. There are many details missing with that simplified approach, but it’s still a good starting point.
Primarily they’re looking to create a two-tier system. This is problematic for a variety of reasons including that many people do not have a choice in their ISP, they get what they get because they live on one side of a street as opposed to the other.
We should also be trying for greater competition so that one ISP cannot control a large portion of the nation’s access to the internet.
Back in April, the FCC opened public comments regarding a two-tier broadband system (compromising net neutrality) or if instead broadband should be reclassified as a telecommunication service (preserving net neutrality).
Perhaps you first read about it in The New York Times or saw it on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
That commentary period is over, the President has shared his plan, and now things are messy. Debate is healthy, but sweeping political statements aren’t debate.
Some additional overviews about Net Neutrality: