Net Neutrality Research Paper
Bryan Thompson
Professor Amy Joyner
English 122
25 July 2014
America Needs Net Neutrality
America is currently under a very big threat to our nation’s freedom. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is currently in the process of debating whether or not to end net neutrality. Back in 2010 the FCC made a decision to enforce net neutrality, which would require all ISPs, also known as Internet Service Providers, to treat all lawful internet traffic equally. This requirement helps maintain an open and free internet, but in January of 2014 the DC Circuit struck down the FCC’s previous decision because they claimed that “the agency had unreasonably interpreted sections of the Communications Act and had regulated broadband providers as …show more content…
A writer for Wired, a technology focused magazine and website, even states, “Net neutrality is a dead man walking. The execution date isn’t set, but it could be days, or months (at best)” (Ammori). This is assumed quite a bit in part because the court systems that struck down the original FCC rules seems to be heavily in favor of corporations over the public interest. It also doesn’t help that ISPs are currently offering a false compromise with the FCC. The current rules that the FCC is voting on would allow the FCC to tell ISPs that they are not allowed to block sites entire for no reason, but they would be allowed to throttle any website for any reason of their choosing. This is very worrying, because as Marvin Ammori put it, “Once the court voids the nondiscrimination rule, AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast will be able to deliver some sites and services more quickly and reliably than others for any reason. Whim. Envy. Ignorance. Competition. Vengeance. Whatever. Or, no reason at all.” If our internet is controlled by the decisions of corporations we are in for a bleak future. Websites like Wikipedia, which provide a wealth of free information, would have trouble being able to provide their services to the public for free as they would be facing a set of fees assessed by each ISP based off of the amount of users that access their website. Free sites that share information with people …show more content…
Whether we accomplish this by turning ISPs into common carriers or by enforcing a standard non-discrimination rule with the internet, there has to be a zero tolerance for throttling of websites based off of extra fees charged by the customer-side internet provider. No matter what they may try to claim, the main reason the corporations that own our nation’s ISPs are fighting against net neutrality is because they want to make more money. If America backs down on this issue, the internet as we know it will be lost. As Nilay Patel said, “What happens now is entirely dependent on whether the FCC’s new chairman, Tom Wheeler, has the courage to stand up and finally say the right words — that broadband access is a telecommunications service that should be regulated just like landline phones.”Works
Professor Amy Joyner
English 122
25 July 2014
America Needs Net Neutrality
America is currently under a very big threat to our nation’s freedom. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is currently in the process of debating whether or not to end net neutrality. Back in 2010 the FCC made a decision to enforce net neutrality, which would require all ISPs, also known as Internet Service Providers, to treat all lawful internet traffic equally. This requirement helps maintain an open and free internet, but in January of 2014 the DC Circuit struck down the FCC’s previous decision because they claimed that “the agency had unreasonably interpreted sections of the Communications Act and had regulated broadband providers as …show more content…
A writer for Wired, a technology focused magazine and website, even states, “Net neutrality is a dead man walking. The execution date isn’t set, but it could be days, or months (at best)” (Ammori). This is assumed quite a bit in part because the court systems that struck down the original FCC rules seems to be heavily in favor of corporations over the public interest. It also doesn’t help that ISPs are currently offering a false compromise with the FCC. The current rules that the FCC is voting on would allow the FCC to tell ISPs that they are not allowed to block sites entire for no reason, but they would be allowed to throttle any website for any reason of their choosing. This is very worrying, because as Marvin Ammori put it, “Once the court voids the nondiscrimination rule, AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast will be able to deliver some sites and services more quickly and reliably than others for any reason. Whim. Envy. Ignorance. Competition. Vengeance. Whatever. Or, no reason at all.” If our internet is controlled by the decisions of corporations we are in for a bleak future. Websites like Wikipedia, which provide a wealth of free information, would have trouble being able to provide their services to the public for free as they would be facing a set of fees assessed by each ISP based off of the amount of users that access their website. Free sites that share information with people …show more content…
Whether we accomplish this by turning ISPs into common carriers or by enforcing a standard non-discrimination rule with the internet, there has to be a zero tolerance for throttling of websites based off of extra fees charged by the customer-side internet provider. No matter what they may try to claim, the main reason the corporations that own our nation’s ISPs are fighting against net neutrality is because they want to make more money. If America backs down on this issue, the internet as we know it will be lost. As Nilay Patel said, “What happens now is entirely dependent on whether the FCC’s new chairman, Tom Wheeler, has the courage to stand up and finally say the right words — that broadband access is a telecommunications service that should be regulated just like landline phones.”Works