Cats don”t care about Net Neutrality, do you?
Cats don”t care about Net Neutrality, do you?
Currently all the information on the internet is treated equally. The bytes from Mary”s My Little Pony fan site are as important as the bytes from the websites of large corporations. Some sites might load quicker because they have better hosting but all the information enters your home at the same speed. The principle of Net Netraility means that Internet Service Providers can not discriminate between types of content they are giving you internet access to and at what speed they give you acess to that content. You simply pay them a monthly fee and you get all the internet has to offer. All at the same speed. This gives all websites equal opportunity to get the word out and provides for the beautiful chaos made by millions of voices that is the internet today.
In only two days on the 16th the US congress will hold a hearing on Net Neutrality. Currently it seems that congress might repeal Net Neutrality laws and even prohibit the FCC from coming back to revisit Net Neutrality laws in the future. This means that the decision taken could be final. If congress should vote against Net Neutraility then Internet Service Providers could discriminate against types of content or websites.  Since ISPs control the access speeds that you have to websites they could censor or slow the speed at which certain sites reach you. They could make certain video sites slower and speed up others. They could amplify some voices and mute others. Speaking personally, this is a power I do not want the ISPs to have.
The plurality and freedom of information on the internet is what makes it so valuable to us all. Large corporations are already at an advantage by more powerful marketing machines. Large companies can currently also pay for better hosting so that their sites load quicker. They already have an advantage. If they could additionally pay ISPs to slow down other sites or block competitors completely the internet as a whole would be less open and less free. This, in my opinion, would stifle innovation and hinder the plurality of the internet.
Even if you should completely disagree with me please do take the time to read up on Net Neutrality and make an informed opinion for yourself. You can read about net neutrality on Wikipedia. Since this could be the last time Congress gets to vote on this issue it is important you do so now.
On the 17th Public Knowledge plans to coordinate the voices of those wanting to protect net neutrality. If you do believe that Net Neutrality should be saved you can go here to find out what you can do to help. The internet has been pretty good to you, its time for you to be good to the internet.
Image of the uncaring cat watching Fahrenheit 451 is Creative Commons, Attribution by Jetalone.
Image of “it was a pleasure to burn” is Creative Commons, Attriution by gcfairch.
