What is Net Neutrality? Basically Net Neutrality means an open internet. Society in favor for net neutrality is in favor of FCC regulations, as this will keep an open internet and maintain an equal access for everyone. FCC regulations are protecting the internet from being filter though large companies who want to prioritize the speed and access of web-sites.
So the question is do we want companies like At&t or Verizon making the decision on who gets preferential treatment on a faster connection to certain web-sites? Absolutely not! Why?
Large Corporation like these are just looking to have larger profits. Companies like Verizon spent billions of dollars putting in new lines to service faster internet, so now they think they should be create more ways to profit from that. They charge their customer for access the internet, now they want to charge large corporation money to have priority over the internet; this is unfair to all the other companies who utilize the internet for business activities. Small companies won’t stand a fighting chance against the big businesses as they will get crushed in the battle. Another large factor is the general public, where will we be left off? The internet is just not about making money, it’s about access to information that helps educate our society, keeps people connected to friends and family. What will happen to web-sites like email servers, VoIP, or even companies like YouTube, or Netflix? If you watch the video from George Stroumboulopoulos, we can see what is happening in Canada, companies are seeking to charge for usage and if that happens, an internet tax will be imposed. In addition, if net neutrality is not protected, we can end up like China, as they are blocking certain web-sites from being viewed. If we as a society let large corporations take control over the internet highway, which will happen here. Google, Verizon, and At&t will be able to control what information will get through. It can be described like handing them a kill switch, killing what companies or web-sites are viewable to the public.
Cable and telephone companies are spending billions of dollars lobbyist congress to make the open internet into a private network as this will help kill the competition. They believe that access tearing is the answer in controlling the speed of the internet. The cable companies already decide what programs are being viewed. This will be the same thing if net neutrality is diminished. They will have the ability to decide what contents are viewed.
In an article I read, it stated that Google is forming a partnership with Verizon. So why would Google team up with Verizon? I believe it is to secure a business relationship; another search engine could pay providers like Verizon to guarantee the competing search engine opens faster than Google on your computer. In retrospect, I believe that Google is creating a partnership so they won’t be under sold to competing search engine, this will secure Google to have the faster internet browser. This is not fair to all internet users alike, just simply not fair.
