By Robert Herrick
“Net Neutrality” is a term coined by Lawyer Tim Wu to describe the current state of affairs on the internet. In short, its an ongoing debate about how ISP providers should be regulated, and how they are allowed to process the internet they deliver to consumers. It may sound boring, but this is arguably one of the most important issues in government currently.
ISP companies are responsible for delivering the internet to people’s homes, like Comcast or Verizon. “Edge companies” are groups like Google or Netflix that deliver a service via the internet. Netflix lets you stream movies, so long as you have the internet. These two come to a head when they compete in business. In addition to providing homes with the internet, Comcast also provides home with cable television. Now, cable television is falling out of popularity due to the rise of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. The cable/ISP companies see this, and they realize that they could leverage their control over people’s internet to slow things like Netflix down to the point of being unusable. This is where the argument currently lands. People arguing for Net Neutrality believe that ISPs cannot slow down or discriminate against certain content, making the internet totally neutral. People arguing against Net Neutrality believe that ISPs do have the right to discriminate and slow down content.
An open and neutral internet is becoming increasingly necessary for American society. As time marches on, the internet becomes less and less of a luxury, and more and more of a necessity. I’ve worked almost exclusively for small businesses, who’s web presence would suffer if Net Neutrality were permanently repealed. They don’t have the kind of money to ensure that their website stays fast, and it would certainly hurt business. An open internet also ensures that corporations can’t extort people for more money. The internet is needed in today’s day and age for almost all communications and entertainment, and many people have careers that depend on the internet.
Net Neutrality and Video Games:
One of the industries suffering the most at the repeal of Net Neutrality is video games. Video games today have a large following of people playing online against each other. This is fun for all, but only if everyone can connect to the internet at a high speed. Otherwise, people’s games start to lag behind and buffer as the result of slow internet. Since online games are happening real time, buffering and lagging make the game almost unplayable. So if Net Neutrality is repealed, and ISPs are allowed to slow people’s internet down at will, online multiplayer games could be rendered unplayable.
The Entertainment Software Association, better known as the ESA, is a lobbying group representing several different companies. They are strongly advocating for a reinstatement of Net Neutrality, arguing that games cannot be buffered to compensate for a slow speed. Public outcry also favors Net Neutrality, judging from reactions on Twitter and Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bhg3amHHYjx/?hl=en&tagged=netneutrality
In conclusion, Net Neutrality is an issue that grows in importance by the day. It’s vital to the protection of our freedom and well being that we fight to keep the internet open and secure. Action must be taken, congressmen must be called, and the public outcry must continue to grow louder. People really do have the power to affect change, so long as it stays persistent and passionate.
In The Know 