The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) of the United States is under fire for its move to eliminate net neutrality. Why is everyone so adamantly against it? Is it really that big of deal? Before we delve into the debate, it's important to understand what 'net neutrality' is.
Net neutrality is basically the guiding principle of the internet. It allows everyone to communicate freely without having ISP's come in and dictate what can be open and closed. ISP's are not allowed to block any application or content. Basically it promises you, the internet accessory, to whatever you want.
Without net neutrality, companies can 'carve' the internet and can charge extra fees to view content. People would pay for extra service, leaving others at slower rates. Additionally, the companies could block certain sites and content that goes against free speech. Political opinions can be blocked, which defeats the whole purpose of the First Amendment.
After years of legal battles, the FCC adopted rules from Title II of the Communications Act that grants users protection. But now, Trump's new FCC chair, Ajit Pai, (who once worked for Verizon... you see some kind of connection) wants the FCC to eliminate it and give more authority to these companies. This is the exact opposite of the 'trust-busting' from a century ago.
This could happen if FCC votes to cancel net neutrality:
Regardless of political opinions, this is only helping the mainstream media even more present biased opinions. On December 14th, the FCC will vote on whether or not to keep these regulations. Research from Jeff Kao has shown that bots are possibly writing fake posts that support the FCC's stance. Hmmmm..... Interesting.
I do understand the FCC's stance. It wants to protect businesses and not let the government step in. However, we are dealing with the internet here. This is different from EPA regulations and whatnot. Now, obviously, this won't be as bad as in countries like China where sites are actually blocked by the government. But still, it's kind of a big deal.
While the big telecommunications companies support the move (why would they not?), software companies and other conglomerates are against it. These telecoms have too much power, and its a matter of time before they turn into Samsung in South Korea. You can check out my previous article on Samsung.
https://www.cnet.com/news/13-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-fccs-net-neutrality-regulation/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshsteimle/2014/05/14/am-i-the-only-techie-against-net-neutrality/#51734e9470d5
http://fortune.com/2017/11/23/net-neutrality-explained-what-it-means-and-why-it-matters/
https://www.thenation.com/article/if-trumps-fcc-repeals-net-neutrality-elites-will-rule-the-internet-and-the-future/
https://www.axios.com/bots-flooded-the-fcc-with-comments-about-net-neutrality-2512428267.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/11/24/fcc-net-neutrality-process-corrupted-by-fake-comments-and-vanishing-consumer-complaints-officials-say/?utm_term=.69589283b862
https://www.savetheinternet.com/net-neutrality-what-you-need-know-now
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