The laws concerning net neutrality – also known as the set of regulations that required internet providers to treat all websites equally – have been repealed officially.
What does this mean and how will it affect consumers? Below you will find everything you need to know about the rules and how they could change the Internet as we know it.
- What is net neutrality?
Net neutrality wasa set of rules that ensured equal access to all websites. It prevented internet service providers (such as Verizon and Comcast) from charging more for certain types of content or giving preferential treatment to certain websites.
Specifically, the rules prohibited phenomena such as throttling, restriction, and prioritization for companies that paid more. In essence, this meant that all websites would be treated equally by service providers.
For example, it prevented companies from charging you more for access to websites like Netflix or YouTube that require higher bandwidth. Now that the rules have been repealed, this could change for consumers.
- Why was net neutrality abolished?
According to net neutrality opponents, such as FCC chairman Ajit Pai, these standards hindered innovation. Pai argues that they prevented internet providers from experimenting with different business models.
Pai said that “internet investments fell by billions of dollars” after net neutrality came into effect in 2015, by former President Barack Obama and claimed that the repeal would bring greater competition to the industry.
“The impact was especially harmful for the smaller internet service providers that could not afford to endure”, wrote Pai. “These providers often serve rural areas and lower-income regions, where better internet access and competition are needed to a greater extent. But they were forced to spend capital on regulatory compliance instead of developing broadband connections for more Americans.»
Internet service providers are now required to disclose how they prioritize traffic, and some cybersecurity experts believe that greater transparency will also increase protection in cyberspace.
- How will the repeal affect us?
Some types of content can now be blocked by Internet service providers, without raising legal issues. The cost of internet access and internet subscriptions could also increase. Access to personal websites, small business websites, and generally to most websites that are not owned by large companies, could become slower to non-existent.
These alleged impacts will not occur immediately, given that internet service providers must first comply with the regulations, but are likely to be realized within the coming months.
However, some users will not experience any change if they have internet access in one of the seven states that have established their own neutrality guidelines: Hawaii, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. And other states such as California are currently trying to pass the same legislation.
- Why should the repeal be cancelled?
The supporters of network neutrality fear that Internet service providers could possibly create a «package» of Internet access, similar to the way cable television is sold. This model would limit Internet access, allowing only people with money to have access everywhere. And even then, they could only have access to whatever the service providers permit.
Οι υποστηρικτές της δικτυακής ουδετερότητας, όπως ο Evan Greer, αναπληρωτής διευθυντής της ομάδας “Fight for our Future” για την υπεράσπιση των δικαιωμάτων του ψηφιακού εμπορίου, υποστηρίζουν ότι η αλλαγή αυτή θα έκανε το διαδίκτυο παρόμοιο με το μονοπώλιο.
“From today, nothing legally prevents companies like Comcast, Verizon and AT & T from arbitrarily censoring entire categories of applications, websites and online services or charging Internet users exorbitant fees for access to them”, said Evan Greer. “The web will be dominated by a handful of larger platforms that can financially endure, limiting independent voices and innovative ideas. We will lose all the weird, controversial and unexpected things that make the Internet so awesome».
- So what's happening now?
Although the vote to repeal the FCC was held in December and has just come into effect, there is legislation in Congress that wants to cancel the repeal.
Thus activists like Greer are asking people to support their effort, as it is one of the last ways through which internet neutrality could be restored. Although there are small chances, neutrality supporters still keep hope.
