An Open Letter to the Ninth and Fourth Circuit Courts of Appeals

Addressed to the Ninth and Fourth Circuit Courts of Appeals,

My name is Aaron Susantin, I am a freshman at Summit Shasta in Daly City, CA. I wanted to write to these organizations because as the appeal courts, you have the greatest capacity to protect citizens’ rights in the USA. This issue is important because the vote to end Net Neutrality is on December 14. Ajit Pai , who is spearheading the repeal of Net Neutrality, was a lawyer for Verizon, one of the companies that stands the benefit the most from the abolishment of Net Neutrality laws. Pai’s motive for passing this repeal is purely financial. Pai’s means to repeal a law that follows the First Amendment .Therefore you should protect Net Neutrality because it aligns with the First Amendment and repealing it would hurt many business.

We should not repeal Net Neutrality because Net Neutrality aligns with the First Amendment. I know this is true because the First Amendment protects freedom of speech and the press. In my research, I learned that all public utilities are protected against censorship under the First Amendment. Further research on this topic shows that if Net Neutrality were to be repealed, any single internet service provider(ISP) can slow down connection to any site at their leisure. This would allow an ISP to contact any internet based service and demand a large sum of money or else the ISP would slow down that sites connection. While an article on Forbes states that the First Amendment does not apply to the internet because the government does not control the internet, however, it is important to consider the internet as a whole. The internet is not one single entity controlled by one ISP it is shared among all the people and ISP’s that connect to it. It is also important to consider how similar the internet is to the other forms of media such as books or newspapers. Newspapers are a method of spreading both ideas and stories. The internet can spread ideas and stories. Books require materials and skill to make. Websites require materials and skill to make. The internet can do everything a book or a newspaper could do.

Another reason we should protect Net Neutrality is because repealing it would hurt many businesses. Alphabet(Google) is a entirely internet based company and its stock is ranked 27th highest in the world. In an online poll, 81% of people surveyed used Google as their primary search engine. If Net Neutrality were repealed, successes like Google and Facebook will never happen again. Net Neutrality allows small business to grow and flourish. Net Neutrality furthers the American ideal of capitalism. Some may argue that the repeal of Net Neutrality helps businesses. While that is true, only four companies stand to gain anything, while over a hundred other companies have opposed it. My aforementioned reasons show why Net Neutrality should not be repealed. As the appeal courts, you have the power to save Net Neutrality.

Hence, I beseech you to consider supporting Net Neutrality. This will keep an important facet of today’s society aligned with the will of the founding fathers. On October 17, 2017 the Federal Courts blocked Trump’s third attempted travel ban. This shows that the Appeal Courts can and will protect The American Constitution. Keeping Net Neutrality the way it is will support the First Amendment, promote business and support the American people. I hope to see your decision made on the behalf of the American People. Thank you for you time.

Sincerely,

Aaron James Susantin