The Pros And Cons Of Internet Neutrality

Net neutrality, or internet neutrality is according to dictionary.com is “the principle that basic Internet protocols should be non-discriminatory, esp. that content providers should get equal treatment from internet operators.” (“net neutrality”). Or in other words "’Net neutrality’ describes an Internet that passes along all bits of information at an equal rate.” (Sansing). “Net neutrality” was coined by Professor Tim Wu at Columbia University media law in 2003. (Wu 2003). Lately, in the United States, net neutrality has been a hot debate that individuals from all backgrounds have participated in. Although the Internet first became available for commercial use in the 1980s, it wasn’t until the 1990s that some politicians noticed and expressed

But it was not until 2005 with the release of FCC 05-151 that the U.S. government started to define and protect net neutrality. Although, with the Federal Communications Commission’s new policy on web traffic announced in 2014, it seems that the Internet is getting further away from the principle of net neutrality. Even though the future of the Internet and net neutrality is an important topic for anyone who uses the Internet, there has been much confusion on what net neutrality actually is, how it effects businesses, and everyday Internet users. In order to understand what net neutrality would look like in the U.S. and how the FCC’s new proposed policy on web traffic would change the Internet, it is important to examine the history of net neutrality in the U.S. The debate of net neutrality in the United States has a long history with numerous failed attempts to pass legislation concerning the issue, but this all changed in the year 2005 when the Federal Communications Commission adopted a policy statement regarding net neutrality numbered FCC 05-151. In this policy, the FCC created four principles to “encourage broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet.”