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What is going on with Net Neutrality?

First of all, Net Neutrality is the principle that Internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favoring or blocking particular products or websites. Essentially this mean that all information should be available to all people.

Why should you care?

Net Neutrality preserves the right to communicate freely online. The access to information is unlimited and encourages learning and progress. When you go online you have certain expectations. You expect to have connections to all websites and content you choose without your internet providers like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon speeding up, slowing down or blocking any content.

Without Net Neutrality, cable and phone companies could dictate fast and slow lanes. This means that if you want fast, unrestricted access to the internet you will have to pay a premium price. The internet without Net Neutrality would be the end of the Internet as we know it. The internet has opened the door for so much innovation and given a platform to people that have been shut out. It would become a closed-down network where the providers decide which websites, content or applications succeed.

Didn’t we already fight this battle and win?

Yes. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted strong Net Neutrality rules base on Title II of the Communications Act giving internet users the strongest protection possible. Title II gives the FCC the authority it needs to ensure that companies can’t block, throttle or otherwise interfere with web traffic. Title II preserves the internet’s level playing field.

Who’s attacking Net Neutrality?

The big phone and cable companies along with lobbyist teams filed suit almost as soon as the Net Neutrality rules were adopted. Free Press helped defend the FCC and federal appeals court upheld the open-internet protections in all respects. Meanwhile, Net Neutrality opponents in Congress have done everything they can to dismantle and undermine the rules by introducing deceptive bills.

The U.S. government has received more than 9 million public comments on rolling back net neutrality regulations, a record response to this situation. People are scared that they will lose access to the Internet because President Trump is making efforts toward rolling back Open Internet protections. In May the FCC voted 2-1 to begin the process of revoking its 2015 net neutrality rules.

Many people are fighting for the right to open internet. There are many online protest and petitions that support Net Neutrality.