Argumentative Essay: Democracy In The United States

We are living in a digital era. More than ever before, the internet is used to meet friends, make shopping convenient, produce alternate forms of education, just to name a few of the mundane activities that are being quickly digitized. Currently the issue of net neutrality is being hotly debated in Congress, but it is more than an issue of internet prices, it is an issue of freedom, gender discrimination, and the attempt to monopolize our thoughts. Through the First Amendment of the Constitution we are guaranteed the essential freedoms to ensure democracy, but the one loophole that that although freedom of thought is assumed, it is the one loophole and flaw for not being explicitly stated. By allowing large companies to control what sites

By eliminating internet freedoms, the government is not deciding for the greater good but for the profit of large companies and organizations. By discontinuing net neutrality, companies would be able to decide the price, speed, and availability of websites and online content, essentially being “able to decide who is heard and who isn’t.” (Press) The internet is a hub for anyone to share an idea, thought, or opinion and reach a potential audience of millions. By silencing those voices, Congress is attempting to infringe on freedom of speech. By potentially blocking sites because the interests of the internet provider “disagree with the message being delivered” from the content the consumer is trying to access blocks the consumer from forming their own opinions and thus limiting the freedom of speech of the original publisher of the content being delayed or blocked. (“What Is Net Neutrality?”) Education provided online would be taken away from students, perspectives from misrepresented groups silenced, and opportunities to meet new people

One goal of the current level of net neutrality is to “ensure that ISPs do not discriminate against, and subsequently harm, innovation.” (Capobianco) Without internet neutrality, companies can promote their own interests by slowing down speeds of websites not owned by the company while speeding up the loading times of websites owned or partially owned by the corporation. Furthermore, small internet companies that would normally be able to somewhat compete with larger corporations such as Comcast or AT&T would lose customers and potential customers as repealing net neutrality “would suppress innovative start-ups because they would not be able to afford the expensive fees that would be required to allow for reasonable access” (ibid.) The suppression of new and local businesses goes against the intrinsic value of the American spirit and American dream. The emphasis on the capitalist agenda is harming the population of business owners and other companies that provide services via the internet who rely on net neutrality to be given the same chance for exposure as larger, more established