Well people, it's that time of year again. The FCC is attempting to repeal all net neutrality guidelines in the United States. I know that just sound like nonsense but it's really important that we talk about the issue. It's even more important that we take action and once again defend net neutrality. Some of you may be wondering what net neutrality is and how it effects you, I got you covered.
Right now, we pay for internet and that's it. There's no extra charges or anything like that. Everything you do on the internet is treated the same. It's all neutral. That means it doesn't matter if you use Netflix or Hulu. Tidal or Spotify. You simply pay for the internet and you get the internet with minimum strings attached.
If we were to remove Net Neutrality from the equation things change. This would mean internet providers are allowed to charge a premium for some services. Maybe HBO Go would be free to watch but your internet provider may charge extra for competing services such as YouTube. Maybe your internet provider strikes up a deal with Apple Music, that way they charge you extra to stream music from Spotify or Tidal. That is in addition to any charge you may incur from those services. So you'd be paying an extra fee on top of service cost simply because you weren't using your internet provider's preferred service.
It goes beyond what music you listen to or what you like to watch. They'd also be free to charge more for online gaming. At the moment Nintendo is the only console that doesn't already require a subscription for online gaming. With Net Neutrality you could be paying a fee afterwards. You'd possibly have to sign up for their "premium gaming internet," or you'll be blocked no matter how much you pay for Plasystation Plus or Xbox Live.
This legislation has been held up by both Democrats and Republicans as "getting government out of internet," and in reality that's a bad thing. If the FCC has their way it won't be the government making sure people are provided fair and equal access to the internet. It'll be corporations bottlenecking your service and milking the internet of all that it is worth. Net Neutrality prevents corporations from charging you an extra $30 or $40 for their "social media" or "independent video" packages.
This is not something the FCC decided to do because they think it'll be better for you. It is something that corporations decided they can make more money from. They sent lobbyist over to politicians with a few fat checks and laid out the plan.
You may think net neutrality doesn't effect you but it does as long as you use the internet. It doesn't matter if you're watching movies, streaming music, looking at pornography, playing games or even reading independent media outlets that could all come to an end with a few votes.
I'm telling you all of this because it's important. We all have to take action with this one. It's important to talk to your local representative. Battle For The Net is the easiest way to do it, all you have to do is write a short letter to your representative. If you'd like to make a phone call, they'll provide you with a script.
