Net Neutrality (Reading09-lgrazios)

Net neutrality is the idea that all legal online content should be treated equally and that there shouldn’t be any different treatment, or discrimination by user, content website, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or method of communication. Some types of preferential or discriminatory treatment by Internet Service Providers are blocking content, over charging some content provider, or deliberately slowing some content. There are several views for and against this idea, some of the supporters for this are companies like “Google, Apple, Amazon and Netflix” and some of the support against it comes from Internet Service providers, like “Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T”. This obviously comes from the fact that with out Net Neutrality content providers may fall victims to Internet Service providers abuse and control over them. Another way to look at this is that us customers aren’t really affected by these regulations, as a matter of fact, “customers already pay for different speeds”. One of the arguments for Net Neutrality is that with out it the Internet wouldn’t really be the Internet. The Internet has been so effective because it has been able to “pave the way for so much innovation” and openness to its users, and that is why the Internet is so great. Also one of the arguments against net neutrality argues that the arguments for net neutrality are merely speculation and in no way actually represent what might happen, for example and argument for net neutrality argues that without net neutrality ISP would be able to charge small start-ups higher therefore blocking and/or stumping progress and innovation. Arguments against net neutrality would argue that these ideas are flawed and that there is no evidence suggesting that something like this would happen. Personally I don’t see the issue with net neutrality, it seems like a good way to keep the Internet as a level playing ground for everyone, where anyone can voice his or her opinion without being blocked or discriminated. Something else to consider would be that if Internet Service Providers where able to charge Netflix more to provide faster internet or to display content, that cost rise for Netflix would probably be reflected in the membership price that users have to pay, so after all it might end up affecting consumers. A way in which it can be implemented or enforced can be by holding ISPs to certain standards of treating everyone impartially and equally. In order to keep over-regulation from burdening corporations and or preventing innovation would be to only regulate content on regards of it legality and nothing else.