This just in: The FCC who has governorship over internet regulations has just voted, along party lines, to eliminate Net Neutrality.
What is Net Neutrality? In it’s simplest form, Net Neutrality means that Internet Service Providers (ISPs)must treat all traffic that passes through their system equally.
This sounds kind of like “So what?” until you consider what eliminating it means.
Without Net Neutrality, your ISP can charge you different rates for different types of data. Want to watch Netflix? Pay more. Want to watch commercials by Comcast…those will be free and provided at the highest speeds.
Suppose an evangelical organization purchases Comcast, (an Internet Service Provider). Now, they may not allow you to watch porn or movies they view as contrary to what they believe. They could only allow shows with staunch Christian values or prohibit international fare where English is not spoken.
In short, your ISP will be able to decide what you get to see and they can charge you more for that data that has the highest value for you.
Imagine Rupert Murdoch purchasing an ISP that may be the sole provider in your area. You could watch all of the conservative news you wanted at a very high speed while CNN or MSNBC would be throttled back so far as to make them unwatchable.
There is an argument in favor of getting rid of Net Neutrality. It is as follows, “By eliminating all regulation on ISPs, they will be free to innovate and offer better products at a much lower price.”
This, of course, is complete bullshit.
They are not prevented from innovating or competing today!
Now for a cute video…
Quote of the Day: “Censorship reflects society’s lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime.” ~Potter Stewart, United States v. Ginzburg, 1965
On the Political Page…
There are five members of the FCC that voted on the Net Neutrality issue; 3 Republicans and 2 Democrats. The vote was 3:2 along party lines. On a completely unrelated note, here is a link to a list of members of Congress that were paid by Internet Service Providers to push for the elimination of Net Neutrality.
Time to save the world.
Up, up and away…
Jim
