Net Neutrality means that
Internet service providers may not discriminate between different
kinds of content and applications online
(http://www.savetheinternet.com).
With the continual expansion of the internet and the growing need for
internet access, a debate is going on in Washington about the control
and future of the internet. “One of the most important features of
the Internet is its openness: It uses free, publicly available
standards that anyone can access and build to, and it treats all
traffic that flows across the network in roughly the same way.”
(https://fcc.gov)
Right now the debate in Washington is to determine wither or not ISPs
are considered Common Carriers. “A common carrier is anyone who
transports a good or service,” and there's a law that prohibits
them from discriminating between what they carry, who they transport
to, and where they go. Right now net neutrality on the
verge of disappearing and letting ISPs determine if they will let you
access a certain site or add additional fees for how you access them.
The biggest cable and telephone
companies would like to charge money for smooth access to Web sites,
speed to run applications, and permission to plug in devices. The
network owners say they want a "tiered" Internet. If you
pay to get in the top tier, your site and your service will run
fast. If you don't, you'll be in the slow lane.
(http://www.savetheinternet.com)
Companies like Google, Facebook,
and Amazon do not fear from this because it will cut competition and
increase their user count, because they can afford to pay to stay on
top. While if some creates their own website, it will get thrown on
the bottom and will take forever to load.
Net neutrality is a key part of
what the internet was made to be, free and accessible. The creators
of the internet are fighting for net neutrality to keep their vision
alive and their work free. They agree that ISPs should be considered
common carriers and be prohibited from restricting or favoring. “A
common carrier that maintained the backbone of actual wires as a
heavily regulated utility and a customer-facing Internet service
provider that competed with other ISPs on that same backbone.”
(http://busisnessweek.com)
They created the idea of the internet for all people to use to avoid
discrimination.
Net neutrality is keeping the
internet free and open, it keeps your ISP from charging you extra
fees or keep you from accessing your favorite websites. The debate in
Washington will determine if the internet remains the way it is.
Depending on their decisions will affect if future of the internet
and how information and communication develop and change.
References
Free
Press. (2014, February). Net Neutrality101.
Retrieved
from http://www.savetheinternet.com/net-neutrality-101
Federal
Communication Commission. (2014, February). Open Internet.
Retrieved
from http://transition.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/openinternet.pdf
Greeley.
(2014, February). Solving the Net Neutrality Problem Is
Actually Simple.
Retrieved
from
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-17/solving-the-net-neutrality-problem-is-actually-very-very-simple
