
Recently, there has been a whole lot of uproar about the issue of “Net Neutrality” and what has come to be knows as the “Fight For The Future“. For those unaware of what is going on, Major communications companies like Comcast have made a push to charge users not only for regular usage, as is currently done, but to also charge users in regards to the speed of the connection. They aim to have complete control of the speed at which we connect to the internet.
What does this mean? Well, lets say that we cannot afford the fast plan ,and opt for the standard, slower plan. Just a few things that would probably happen: slow loading webpages, never ending buffering on Netflix and Youtube, and constant lag when trying to play online video games.
It is simply absurd! It is like your car company attempting to limit how fast you drive, or your cable company trying to limit how much Television you can watch per month. Not to mention, the big companies will most likely also be able to limit what is able to be viewed online. In an age of free information the internet has become a vital lifeline for news and current events. How can our content be limited?!
Luckily for us, the President is on our side, backing Net Neutrality defenders in a recent White House Press report. However, there is much stipulation that his stance, should the Communications companies loose the fight, would bring an “immediate” internet tax.
How so, you ask? Under Obama’s tighter control over the situation, the communications companies will be required to pay the FCC’s “Universal Service Fund”- a tax that history shows will be quickly “passed off” from the communications companies to the customers.
According to President Obama:
“We cannot allow [them] to restrict the best access or to pick winners and losers in the online market place. I believe the FCC should reclassify consumer broadband service under Title II.”