For many people, net neutrality can be a confusing and overwhelming topic. In order to fully grasp the definition of net neutrality one must have a solid understanding of how our internet services are packaged and provided to us, and how these services might be affected by changing political policies. For many of the that people I approached to interview for this project, net neutrality was a word they had heard tossed around but had never fully understood. According to Renee Hobbs’ book, Create to Learn, “communication and information” can be used “to make a difference in the world.” Even if some of these communicative actions do not get that much attention, “often such initiatives produce results” (pg. 87). In creating my vox pop, I am striving to make the concept of net neutrality more accessible to the public.
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As defined by Wired, net neutrality is the “the idea that internet service providers like Comcast and Verizon should treat all content flowing through their cables and cell towers equally.” When net neutrality is in place, service providers are unable to charge more for faster access to certain websites or limit the websites that users are able to visit. Whereas net neutrality protections had been significantly strengthened during the Bush and Obama administrations, the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been less inclined to preserve net neutrality regulations. In November 2017, the FCC announced that it would begin to dismantle net neutrality protections, effectively opening up the space for service providers to be able to determine how broadband is used.
In an extreme scenario, this deregulation will allow for service providers to create bundle-like packages, similar to how cable channels are bundled for television viewers. A user would only be able to access the websites that are included in the bundle that they paid for. Service providers will be able to promote greater and faster access to websites that they have a financial stake in; for example, Comcast (which owns NBCUniversal) will be able speed up streaming times on the forthcoming NBC streaming website while slowing down its users’ access to competitive sites like Netflix.
While proponents of deregulation argue that anti-trust laws will prevent large service providers from completely crippling smaller companies, net neutrality advocates insist that deregulation will undoubtedly harm competition. Smaller companies, like startups, have often used the democratic, level playing field of the internet to jumpstart their businesses. With the internet becoming less of a democracy (and arguably more of an oligarchy), smaller companies will no longer have the same access to resources as the larger, more established companies that are connected to service providers.
As well as being a resource for new companies, the internet has long been an open and accessible way to learn the news and gain information. According to a 2016 study by the Pew Research Center, 38% of Americans receive their news from online. If service providers are able to control what news sites their users have access to, and how easy that access is, they have the potential ability to shape the way that a large number of Americans see the news landscape, and–by extension–the world around them. Service providers could potentially make it easier to access news sites that support and advocate for their own special interests. In March of 2019, the Save the Internet bill was introduced to congress. The act would essentially restore the previous net neutrality regulations that were in put in place by a 2015 act. The act recently passed the House of Representatives and is progressing to the Senate. To learn more, visit https://www.savetheinternet.info/.
Works Cited
https://www.wired.com/story/guide-net-neutrality/
Coldewey, Devin. (2019, April 9). Net Neutrality Restoring Save the Internet Act Passes the
House, Moving onto Senate. Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/10/net-neutrality-restoring-save-the-internet-act-passes-house-moving-on-to-senate/
Finley, Klint. (2018, May 9). The Wired Guide to Net Neutrality. Retrieved from
https://www.wired.com/story/guide-net-neutrality/
Finley, Klint. (2017, November 22). Here’s How the End of Net Neutrality Will Change the
Internet. Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/story/heres-how-the-end-of-net-neutrality-will-change-the-internet/?mbid=GuidesLearnMore
Mitchell, A, et. al. (2016, July 7). Pathways to News (The Modern News Consumer). Pew
Research Center. Retrieved from https://www.journalism.org/2016/07/07/pathways-to-news/
Nusca, Andrew. (2017, November 23). Net Neutrality Explained: What it Means (and Why it
Matters). Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2017/11/23/net-neutrality-explained-what-it-means-and-why-it-matters/
Second Semester Super Senior 