The Pros And Cons Of Internet Neutrality

The net neutrality debate has risen once again and taken the country by storm. Supporters of net neutrality - the concept of a completely free and unbiased internet - and the supporters of a regulated, or tiered internet system, that would make people pay for faster internet or faster access to certain services go back and forth constantly. United States Congress and the Federal Communications Commission have differing stances on this issue, along with plenty of American consumers. Governing broadband poses internet service providers with the ability to slow or speed up internet access based on how much people pay for the service. To stop this from happening, net neutrality supporters have made it their mission to attempt to keep a free internet by fighting these restrictions.

Supporters of a new, regulated internet suggest that the federal government take control of the internet. Tom Wheeler from the Federal Communications Commission suggested a new age of online regulation, stating that the Internet has become so crucial that it needs a category similar to any other public utility so the government has more ability to regulate it (“A Plan to Treat Web”). This would make the internet equivalent to electricity or water, forcing consumers to pay for how much they use, and the speed at which they want the access. The necessary move to regulate internet plans to safeguard consumers and businesses from Internet Service providers trying to boost their profits by selling preferential treatment to some websites for speedier delivery of their videos and other content. Although the FCC would not have the ability to regulate the prices consumers pay like they do with land-line service. (A Plan to Treat Web”). This ensures that customers will not pay unfair prices compared to other consumers, although they wonder whether or not this will ring