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Since the beginning the Internet has been for the people and made by the people, but on 15th May the Federal Communications Commission proposed rules that could see the open online world we know become a discriminatory ‘two-tiered internet’. These new rules would allow Internet service providers to charge extra fees to companies such as Google for hosting their content. Internet service providers could then create two versions of their Internet, a fast one for those who can afford it and a slow one for those who can’t. The danger with giving these big corporate companies this power to decide which companies will be running fast and slow will dictate what people are viewing, taking away our individual choice.
“To limit net neutrality would drastically reduce the freedom, openness, and possibility of the Internet as we know it.” – Video Creators for Net Neutrality www.videocreatorsfornetneutrality.org
Not only could we have varied Internet speeds for separate websites which is more than annoying, but it could also mean that companies such as Netflix will only be available through one Internet service provider and YouTube through another…now I’m angry! And I’m not alone, the Net Neutrality debate has seen thousands of people getting involved and among them many famous faces. Author and Vlogger John Green has said, “Net neutrality allows independent content creators to reach audiences directly. Without it, there would be no YouTube or Tumblr or Reddit, and there would also be no Vlogbrothers or crash course.”
John Green’s Vlog with his brother Hank Green has over 2 million subscribers.
If you’re asking yourself if this really does affect you, trust me it does! Your online privacy is at stake as Internet service providers would be given access to monitor everything you do and say online, including your bank details and passwords – they could even sell this information to the wrong people for the right price. After the Internet coming so far from what it once was I can’t believe there is such a threat to send it backwards again. Being a Media Student and using the Internet to upload and share my work I know how important the Web is for individuals and even small businesses to get the views they desperately need. Taking away the freedom of the Internet is taking away our freedom to communicate, buy, sell and browse online. How sad a concept, especially since at the moment of its conception the creator of the internet, Sir Tim Berners-Lee proclaimed, “this is for everyone.”
By Talia Maguire
