What is net neutrality, anyway?

Everyone keeps talking about it, and it sure sounds good.  But what is it?

Basically, the idea is that internet providers currently have to allow you to go to every site the same.  They provide access but have no control over whether you want to watch movies online or just browse Facebook for hours.

This is, of course, completely unacceptable to internet providers who, being businesses, have no soul.   (Well, unless the Supreme Court rules that they can have a religion.)  Instead, they want to treat the internet the way they treat cable television, where you pay a small fee for general access but where they can block you from certain sites unless you pay them lots of money.

This is a very bad idea, of course.  One of the great things about the internet is that it is available for everyone.  Anyone can start their own web page or blog, and everyone can access it.  If internet providers are allowed to decide what we can access, we may end up with a type of censorship we don’t need.  “Sorry, we don’t allow anyone to access sites that don’t conform to our political beliefs.”

Without neutrality, providers can also make other decisions about access, and can do things like make access very quick for certain websites and tremendously slow for others.

This is in the news because a federal court ruled in favor of the big corporations over the consumer.  (I know, I know, you’re absolutely shocked that Big Money has won in court.)  OK, fine, it’s a bit more complicated than that — the decision had to do with whether the FCC could make certain regulations — and it could become moot if the regulations are rewritten.  However, at the moment, the future is up in the air.

Enjoy the freedom while you have it.