Net neutrality has been a long and drawn out fight for sides both in favor and against it. The FCC will hold a vote on net neutrality on December 14th, but what does this mean for you?
The Net Neutrality Scare
Many people are worried about the repealing of the net neutrality rules put into place back in 2015. These fears, while not unfounded, may not even come to fruition. The ability of Internet service providers to control the Internet as a business may be scary to some, but a lot of what’s being said is simply hype.
The belief and comments from many opposing the repeal is that the Internet service providers will create expensive “fast lanes,” providing higher Internet speeds to those who are willing and able to pay, and throttling or slowing down the Internet for those who cannot or do not hand over the extra cash.
What Could Happen?
Major technology companies are the main hands behind keeping these rules in place. However, this may be only fueling the hype. Despite these changes only being a possibility, they could mold the landscape of the Internet for better or worse.
An Internet service provider, if they decided to, could do much more than just slow down Internet for force users to pay for faster Internet speeds. These possibilities are endless, from slowing down specific sites, to blocking them entirely. This plan has not been confirmed, though with the reputation of some Internet service providers, it’s not entirely impossible.
Regardless of the fears and hype alongside the thousands of voiced concerns, the vote will still go through and the outcome can only be seen when it is decided on. The most anyone can do at this point is write their respective member of Congress and hope.
(Image Source: iCLIPART)
