Well well, it's been a while since I've heard someone talk about Net Neutrality. Makes sense it would come from an EOTO but still.
I remember way back during my freshmen year of high school, where around November-December 2017, there were plans to repeal Net Neutrality. This was one the biggest things that go my generation talking (at the time) And so much information was going around about what this would mean if Net Neutrality did get repealed. Though I'm still not sure anyone really knew what Net Neutrality was or what would happen when it got taken down, so let's talk about it.
Net Neutrality is defined as "the principle that an internet service provider (ISP) has to provide access to all sites, content and applications at the same speed, under the same conditions without blocking or giving preference to any content." So essentially now that this was repealed thanks to everyone's favorite person, Ajit Pai, internet providers could cause certain speeds of sites to become slower or faster, thereby you having to pay additional money to access a certain a site at a better quality speed.
This can be troublesome in a number of ways. First of all there is the factor of money alone, if you are already paying for a computer and your own WiFi (depending on the location), you must now have to pay additional charges theoretically. So say you want to watch Netflix but your cell phone carrier company has a deal with Hulu to promote their streaming service. They could slow down the speed of Netflix where there would be much more buffering and you would have to pay extra to get it at a better quality. So not only you are paying for the streaming service, but additional funds just so it can run at it's fullest capacity. This alone could drain your wallet!
But it's not just a money thing. It can be a political and news thing too! If your internet provider had say a certain political bias, say to Fox News, they could slow down the service of left leaning news sources like CNN or MSNNC, thus making it harder to listen to them. This is dangerous as it can more easily spark propaganda or making you view a certain point whether you like it or not. So you can see why Net Neutrality is more important than you may initially think. When it's gone, it could get into the wrong hands, it could change the way we go online.
So since it has been repealed, why haven't we seen any of these drastic measures happen? After all its been almost 4 years since the repeal was voted on, has any of this taken place? Well, possibly. It does seem like after a few months after the vote, the whole craze of it being repealed started to die down and people returned to their own lives and not many seemed to notice any drastic changed happen. I have always found it strange as I personally never had any issues with the internet speed (aside from the wifi at High Point but that is another story entirely) Maybe it all could have just been blown out or proportion? Or maybe some people did experience the effects on the repeal but just didn't realize? Or maybe we all just moved on to another issue.
What I have realized is that people care very much about the things they love not being changed. This has been a staple throughout all of history. After all, we live in a world where the internet is no longer just an optional feat. It's a necessity for how we communicate, work, and learn. So to have the main way we operate in life in the hands of some high class people that can change how it works in any way that they see benefitting them, that is a scary thought. So maybe that's why people cared so much when they heard that it got repealed. But now there are reports that Biden would try to get Net Neutrality back. Nothing is definite nor a priority, but it is in the air at least. So maybe one we can get Net Neutrality back!
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