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The Pros And Cons Of Net Neutrality

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According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, net neutrality is “the idea, principle, or requirement that Internet service providers should or must treat all Internet data as the same regardless of its kind, source, or destination.” The phrase was first used by Tim Wu, a lawyer and professor at Colombia University, in his paper Network Neutrality, Broadband Discrimination in 2003. Despite this debate being around for almost 15 years, this issue has risen to the forefront because of President Trump’s recent comments about the disbandment of the net neutrality policy established under the Obama administration. The main focus of this paper is of net neutrality as a political, ethical, and financial issue, not as an issue between political parties. …show more content…

ISPs argue that “further investments in the network infrastructure would not be profitable and further roll out of high speed networks would not be undertaken (“NET NEUTRALITY”).” Internet service providers are not be able to charge companies in order for consumers to receive faster speeds to their websites because of net neutrality. Providers would also not be allowed to charge based on usage. For example, according to The Guardian, Netflix and YouTube make up for more than half of all Internet traffic in the United States. Due to net neutrality, Internet service providers are unable to charge YouTube or Netflix extra despite the toll their websites take on the providers’ infrastructure. Providers are less likely to invest in infrastructure because there is no direct financial gain from boosting speeds. This is one of the negative parts of net neutrality that is often ignored by proponents of the bill. In this case, net neutrality would cause the United States consumers to suffer from aging infrastructure and slower speeds compared to other countries in the future. The only way to prevent this would be to adjust this section of the

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