There is a lot of hullabaloo going around about Net Neutrality. Tom Wheeler, the Chair of the FCC (Federal Communication Commission) has been dithering about passing President Obama’s plan concerning Net Neutrality amid the chaos of the current governmental system.
What is Net Neutrality? Net Neutrality is the idea that the average citizen of the united states should not have to pay exorbitant rates for their internet service, in addition to charging different ISP’s (Internet Service Providers) and companies different rates for different traffic values. This essentially means that the Internet could be perform, without Net Neutrality, as a speedway with a slow lane for semi’s and a fast lane for race cars, while closing off certain lanes entirely. That means that Internet content can be censored and priced out of the range of small companies and individuals to pay for.
One of the major consequences of this plan to create “internet fast lanes” as the Republican Party is pushing is an inherent violation of the First Amendment that is professed to be loved and adhered too. By regulating what internet content can be seen and accessed by any individual or company this law or regulation would inherently violate the freedom to free speech! So for a government that calls for the President to be impeached for a flagrant violation of constitutional rights, which is highly debatable, passing this law through the FCC would be the ultimate crime against the bastion of freedom that American is supposed to be.
Look at it in perspective. If Net Neutrality were to be abolished, companies like Moz.com, the entire News Media, Advertising Agencies and even academia would suffer as a result. We have no inclination of what content would be censored and if the religious wing of the Senate and House have their way, anything scientific would be censored. This would limit the ability of any academic or truthful organization to publish data that could serve to educate the country and world.
I realize that I am taking a hard approach to this subject, but I do so because I fear for the integrity of this country. I come from a people that have been subjected to a rule not of their own volition because of decisions made in that past that have served their purpose. Now, my people desire their own freedoms, and are legally and logically arguing for them. The people of the United States of America need to do the same. If all of us living here were to protest the idea that our government is correct in taking away our ability to access any information or rhetoric, or even pornography, which has been ruled by the courts to be an expression of free speech, then we are allowing our basic rights to be ruled away.
This is not the only problem that has arisen with this issue. What is very much less known among the people of the United States of America is that we/you are being screwed over our current Internet Service
According to webanalyticsworld.net1 the top five countries with highest aver Mbps (megabits per second) in Internet data usage were:
- South Korea (23.6 Mbps)
- Japan (14.6 Mbps)
- Hong Kong (13.3 Mbps)
- Switzerland (12.7 Mbps)
- Netherlands (12.4 Mbps)
The United States of America isn’t on any of the Top 10 lists concerning Internet data speeds. Part of the reason for the United States falling down the list for technology is that we are not longer supporting the education and infrastructure for such technological advancements, as is demonstrated by the cutting of education funding, the raising of student loan interest rates, and the lack of funding for technology advancements, including the inability of NASA to continue space exploration.
These are all contributing factors to why other countries spend less for greater Internet access speeds. Take a look at this article published on the Huffington Post to really see what the huge disparities facing internet economics are facing Americans.
Add this on top of Tom Wheeler’s refusal to make President Obama’s Net Neutrality plan into action and make it a reality, and we can see that our Government is no longer working for its people. If the Republican Party manages to prevent Net Neutrality from maintaining the status quo then I call for a boycott of all ISPs. That means, cancel your cable and Internet subscriptions because the freedom you enjoyed from them will be limited. We do not have a fair exchange when placed in comparison with other countries that don’t have the same level of freedoms and that America purportedly does. We will not have the same freedom to express ourselves that we currently do either.
Stop Net Neutrality. Stop this dysfunctional government from ruining our lives further.
1 http://www.webanalyticsworld.net/2014/08/internet-speed-gap-widens.html – this is a third party Internet possessing analytical data concerning many areas of internet data, including rates of data speed other countries face, and references Google’s own management team.