Money is, has been and always will be the filament for pursuit of new grounds. Profit has always driven companies to adjust policies.
In the instance of net neutrality, however, greed is one step from the ledge of insanity and must be stopped.
The premise of net neutrality lies in a complex muddle of legal jargon. In layman’s terms, the FCC, backed by enormous corporations such as AT&T, has taken legal action to reform Title II of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which will effectively allow internet service providers (ISPs), such as AT&T, to control the speeds at which certain websites reach their users.
Because of smaller business’ lack of monetary surplus, as compared to larger corporations such as Amazon or Twitter, bandwidth allocation and server dedication would be cut down.
With the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) taking action to rid the internet of its level playing field, net neutrality is in jeopardy. Its commissioner, Ajit Pai, has taken corporate influence to the next level.
With Fortune 500 companies, such as Verizon Wireless and Comcast, lobbying for net neutrality’s provisions, the word of the common man is muddled out, ignored and essentially shut down. Despite movements such as savetheinternet.org, the lobbying of such wealthy companies has started to shut down voter representation in the place of money and incentives.
These companies have billions of dollars at their disposal and look to impose this new legislation that will effectively double their profit margins.
By controlling the speeds of certain websites, ISPs will essentially be able to throttle websites based off of payments, resembling extortion and charging customers more money for internet they already receive. All in all, the revision of Title II is a ludicrous cash grab that shows the major flaw in the United States’ political organization.
The concept of lobbying, which lies at the very heart of net neutrality’s catalyst, has such an influence over lawmakers that a non-issue such as the climate of neutrality today could be changed with the prospect of money.
With corporate or wealthier organizations controlling internet traffic, users will be doomed to ads, selling off their browser history and steeper internet prices.
This devilish future, however, isn’t guaranteed. With state representative voting being held mid-December, it’s imperative for citizens to reach out, contact their local representatives and force them to hear their voices. It is not too late to keep the internet free of political corruption.