Net neutrality is essentially " the principle that consumers should have equal access to content available on the Internet."` While Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Tom Wheeler denied that the internet priniciples of net neutrality were not being gutted, the fact that the 2010 "Open Internet" rule was struck down by courts has many net neutrality advocates worried. The Open Internet rules required Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to be transparent in how they deal with traffic, prohibiting them from blocking high-traffic sites like Netflix and, the most controversial, prohibiting ISPs from putting customers in a "slow lane" to benefit themselves. 1
That said, Wheeler has proposed new rules that " allow broadband providers to strike special deals with Internet companies like Netflix or Skype for preferential treatment". This frightens proponents of net neutrality because they fear that it would create "fast lanes" for ISPs, which then would do the obvious and charge customers for access to the faster "lane". 2
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On one hand there are the internet freedom advocates who want unfettered and equal access for all users to any and all aspects of the internet, including high-traffic services like video services and other data-intensive services. Their claim is that this is the only way the internet will be free and equal; if stratification of services is allowed, their claim is that it will create "classes" of users, where the poor are punished and the rich are allowed access not available to others. The motivation of this group is to allow freedom of information for all and to prevent users being "throttled" or otherwise controlled be either price or data