Belay 1
Rufael Belay
Composition II
Mr. Perrino
1, August 2019
Defending Net Neutrality
The neutrality of the internet has inspired and enabled corporations and individuals to make advancements in applications and services that ultimately contribute to economic growth and progression. Users are entitled to access any lawful content they choose and all internet providers must deal with web traffic fair and equally. The absence of net neutrality regulations presents difficulty as low-income families struggle to afford internet access, which in turn worsens social and economic inequality. Preserving the openness of the internet is a crucial element for a great deal of small businesses in addition to the common user, and the repeal of net neutrality effectively dismisses innovation and instead produces network discrimination.
The controversy behind net neutrality has less to do with independent internet users surfing the web freely, and rather deals with who will influence the future of internet. While the FCC has maintained that net neutrality regulations increased difficulty for broadband providers to invest in their networks, evidence suggests that such regulations have had zero negative effect on initial telecom investment. Following the repeal of net neutrality, the market now dictates what succeeds or fails online. Meaning Washington attorneys and officials are now a significant factor in how the industry develops. The repeal of net neutrality will force the larger companies to invest in infrastructure for broadband service, resulting in lower bills for smaller companies and more innovation. As Larry Downes [Project director at the Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy] notes, "Most efforts to regulate the internet make things worse in the long term,”. Eliminating net neutrality regulations, criticizers argue, won’t release an overflow of unethical or unfair practices.
Net neutrality supporters argue that permitting broadband providers, also known as ISPs, to favor specific kinds of online content will essentially modify the integrity of the Internet. Innovation didn't decrease when net neutrality rules were in place; instead they made it possible for upstarts. Farhad Manjoo, a columnist of the New York times wrote "but it will look like and feel like something else altogether [speaking on repeal of net neutrality]—a network in which business development deals, rather than innovation, determine what you experience, a network that feels much more like cable TV than the technological Wild West that gave you Napster and Netflix." With the absence of Net Neutrality, private companies such as Verizon or AT&T have the authority to conceal Internet content in order to promote their own personal agenda. Former Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler disputes "A fair and open internet is the backbone of the digital economy. The FCC has sold out to the wishes of the companies it is supposed to regulate over the consumers it...
