What Happens When We Get Rid of Net Neutrality? — 1/31/17

With Trump becoming President, the end of net neutrality may be near. Trump has appointed Ajit Pai as the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) new chairman. Pai voted against Net Neutrality, as did the other Republican FCC commissioner (passed on 3–2 party lines vote in 2015).

A little bit on the FCC: The FCC regulates all forms of communication and was the organization that created the net neutrality regulations in 2015. Those regulations are how we all enjoy the internet as it is today, mainly boiling down to:

1. No blocking: a broadband provider can’t block lawful content because they wish to.
2. No throttling: a broadband provider can’t slow down the speed of specific applications/websites because they wish to.
3. No paid prioritization: a broadband provider can’t accept fees to speed up the access times of specific applications/websites.

So what happens when net neutrality goes away? Will we be forced to buy internet packages the same way we buy cable TV? Will internet providers be able to block any content they want because they don’t agree with it? Find out in the readings below.

All Readings
(1) WIRED article on net neutrality and the structure of the internet.
(2) MIT Technology Review on what happens if net neutrality goes away.
(3) Scientific American article quickly summarizing the debate on net neutrality.
(4) Breitbart’s take on why we shouldn’t have net neutrality.
(5) The ACLU on why we should have net neutality.
(6) NY Times article on the difference between U.S. and European internet providers.

Intro — What is Net Neutrality?

What exactly does net neutrality entail? To talk about net neutrality, we first need to understand what it is.

(1) WIRED article on net neutrality and the structure of the internet.
(2) MIT Technology Review on what happens if net neutrality goes away.

cool illustration on fast lanes / net neutrality: http://www.theopeninter.net/

Quick Debate on Net Neutrality

To be able to effectively articulate our positions — whether we are for net neutrality or not — we need to understand both sides of the debate. Here is a quick rundown of the arguments for and against net neutrality.

(3) Scientific American article quickly summarizing the debate on net neutrality.

Against Net Neutrality

The two sides of the debate are important to understand, so we need to go more in depth on the arguments against net neutrality.

(4) Breitbart’s take on why we shouldn’t have net neutrality.

For Net Neutrality

We also need to go more in depth on the arguments for net neutrality.

(5) The ACLU on why we should have net neutality.

The Real Issue for opponents isn’t Net Neutrality, it’s “Open Access”
After reading up on the debate about net neutrality, maybe the issue isn’t a neutral internet at all. If we look at the internet infrastructure of France, Japan, and other European countries, their internet is 2x faster, and also much cheaper.

Their secret? Regulated open access to network lines. Companies that build networks and lay cables for internet must sell that access to other competing internet provider companies.

(6) NY Times article on the difference between U.S. and European internet providers.

Net Neutrality Big Reference (Not required reading)
Encyclopedia-like reference for net neutrality.