Essay On Net Neutrality

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In February of this year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to repeal net neutrality in the United States. The vote is not final, still needing Congressional approval to be made official, but should it pass and become the law in the Unites States net neutrality will become a relic of the past. Naturally, this will have many effects on all companies that deal with or do business over the internet, including ours. The effects are currently not completely understood, and only time will really tell how this will all play out, but there are several things we know may happen in the near future.

Before we start, It is important to fully understand what net neutrality is. The net neutrality regulations were several pieces of …show more content…

Without the FCC regulating a free and open web, ISPs are legally allowed to slow connection to specific content. The websites slowed could be filtered by the type of content they provided, the organizations running the sites, or really whatever characteristics the ISP saw fit. ISPs could, for example, require users to purchase a sports package or an entertainment package to view content involving sports or video streaming(3.). They could slow or block content provided by a specific organization like a television network, requiring users to purchase fast connection access to view content from HBO or Fox Networks. Video streaming and online shopping may come with new costs due to this regulation, with no restrictions existing preventing an ISP from charging extra money to make online transactions or access live video(3.). These changes will certainly hurt smaller online businesses that will lose some business due to the increased prices. Users will be harmed by this, because of all the new fees that could be imposed on them to access the same content they have always viewed. In Potugal, for example, there is at least one internet provider that already does this. They offer packages for sports, entertainment, and video streaming for users to pay for. This is likely the path ISPs in the United States would follow. This likelihood will almost definitely affect consumers and businesses negatively