Major Assignment 1
Source Analysis: Net Neutrality
Abraham Fraire
2/8/2015
English Composition
Not having Net Neutrality is a big issue that many people do not understand completely and thus do not know how to help this issue. What is Net Neutrality, how does not having Net Neutrality affect you and how you can help Net Neutrality become a thing. The source is an official article “Net Neutrality: President Obama’s Plan for a Free and Open Internet” which is credible. Most people don’t think that they can help with any government issues because they are just one person in this country but there are ways to help.
The source that this essay is based on is credible as first of all it is on the official government website “Whitehouse.gov”. The next reason that I believe that this source is credible is the person who came up with the plan to solve the Net Neutrality problem was the President of the United States. The source states facts about Net Neutrality and what it is and how it is the correct option for everyone. The source covers some major topics about what people can do when they don’t have Net Neutrality such as Throttling, Blocking, and Paid priority services. Companies also can have do these things in a secretive manner where people won’t be able to tell that they are doing it this is why Increased transparency is one of President Obama’s solutions in his plan.
What is Net Neutrality?
Net Neutrality is the idea that everyone should have access to a certain service on the internet without the data being altered in anyway by the government or Internet service providers. One example of this would be if a certain website did not pay the major Internet Service Providers those ISPs would but any and all data that came from that website on a slow lane or even block that website for its users all together. Net Neutrality wants to prevent this and wants to make it so ISPs or even the government cannot partake in these actions.
How does not having Net Neutrality affect people?
Not having Net Neutrality is like having two lanes on the highway but you can only use one lane unless you pay a fee to use the other one. One of the other issues users will have to deal with if they don’t have Net Neutrality is Blocking, Throttling, and Paid Prioritization. Blocking is just what it sounds like if a certain website or even user does not pay a fee to the ISP they might block certain websites that are commonly used. One other thing is that the ISP might international slow down content from a certain website to you, this is called Throttling. Lastly, a service or a certain website might be stuck in the “slow lane” if they do not pay a fee to the ISP or whoever their data goes through to get the users. One other major thing is how we will be monitoring ISPs that are doing this or how will we know if they are not doing this. In Obama’s plan he talks about Increased Transparency which is “The connection between consumers and ISPs — the so-called “last mile” — is not the only place some sites might get special treatment. So, I am also asking the FCC to make full use of the transparency authorities the court recently upheld, and if necessary to apply net neutrality rules to points of interconnection between the ISP and the rest of the Internet.” This in turn shows how committed he is to solving the issues that will arise if we don’t have Net Neutrality in Play. These are the four main things that can affect users or services if we do not have Net Neutrality in place.
What can people do to help Net Neutrality become a thing?
A form of Net Neutrality is already a thing but only in Telecommunications. This means that no phone companies can give you bad reception on purpose if you are calling a person who uses a different service than you. As Obama has stated in his plan “So the time has come for the FCC to recognize that broadband service is of the same importance and must carry the same obligations as so many of the other vital services do.” which is why for full Net Neutrality there are a few things that people can do, one is to contact the FCC or find a petition online that tells the FCC to get a public opinion on Net Neutrality. Another thing people can do is to Share Obama’s plan from the Website to social media sites so more and more people can see it. Some people think that Obama does not believe in net neutrality but he said “When I was a candidate for this office, I made clear my commitment to a free and open Internet, and my commitment remains as strong as ever.” Which is why I believe people should help spread this plan around so that it can pass. These are some of the main ways a single person can help Net Neutrality become a thing.
Conclusion
These are the three most important things that people need to know about Net Neutrality and how they can help implement it. The points being what Net Neutrality is, how not having it can affect a single person and how someone can help bring it into this country. Net Neutrality is very important and the internet is “one of the greatest gifts our economy — and our society — has ever known.”, so we should try to make sure we take care of it and keep it free, open and accessible.
Sources
“Net Neutrality: President Obama’s Plan for a Free and Open Internet.” The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2015. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/net-neutrality>.
