Negating Net Neutrality

Communication has never been so technical. Personal communication was revolutionized with the invention of cell phones and computers, eliminating distance barriers. People in America are now highly dependent on the Internet to learn about the news, do research, and chat with friends. However, their freedom of communication is at stake: Internet service providers (ISPs) may soon have the authority to control what sites users are and are not able to see – unless the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) changes the Internet’s definition from an “information service” to a “telecommunications service.” This simple technicality makes the difference between a free Internet and a monopolized web grossly concerned with profit.

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Currently, users are free to navigate to whatever site they wish (unless, of course, they themselves choose to install a filter). Users do not have to pay more to navigate to certain sites, nor are specific web pages programmed to upload slower than others so as to discourage users from viewing the webpage. This is referred to as “net neutrality.” A threat to net neutrality arose when in 2007 Comcast was found to be intentionally blocking websites from users. The FCC fought against the blockages, but Comcast fought back and won – a Federal court ruled that the FCC did not have the authority to check Comcast’s regulation liberties because the Internet is not defined as a “telecommunications service.”

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The problem with ISPs becoming the gatekeepers on what sites users go to is that it inhibits the laissez faire interaction on the Internet that people enjoy. People already pay high prices for Internet use. The order of results on search engines such as Yahoo! or Google is determined by the money paid by the website sponsor to have their site show up first. Producers are in part controlled by their advertisers because that is a way they make money off their websites. The elimination of net neutrality is yet another form of censorship because money and ISPs determine what sites users can and cannot see.

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Will net neutrality become a thing of the past? Only time will tell.