President Obama & Net Neutrality

Recently President Obama released a video and statement endorsing a free and open Internet, commonly known as “net neutrality.” He thinks that the Internet should be regulated like public utilities such as electricity and telephone services. The concern with an unregulated Internet, according to this article by The New York Times is that Internet service providers can intentionally block or slow down certain content, while allowing things such as paid ads to reach customers quicker. Some Internet service providers who depend on revenue from broadband subscriptions are against President Obama’s regulation of the Internet because it would control their pricing.  In this video released by The White House, President Obama said, “Whether you use a computer, phone, or tablet Internet providers have a legal obligation not to block or limit your access to a website.”

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President Obama also released a statement, which can been seen here on The White House Website,  includes these four rules that he thinks the Federal Communications Commission should enact to protect net neutrality.

-No Blocking: As long as a website is legal, Internet service providers cannot block you from viewing it.

-No Throttling: Internet service providers cannot intentionally slow down or speed up access to certain content.

-Increased Transparency: Apply net neutrality at all points of interconnection between the Internet service provider, the Internet, and the consumer

-No Paid Prioritization: No service should be slowed down because it does not pay a fee.

Despite the President’s support, many Americans are still against net neutrality and government regulation.  

This comic shows some reasons why people are against net neutrality and turning the Internet into a public utility. It shows the wires that provide things such as innovation, new content, fast service and consumer choice being cut before they can reach the consumer.  The comic also shows the consumers down below saying “But they say we’ll be better off this way.” This illustrates that even if people see something that seems wrong, if the government tells them it is a good idea they will go along with it. Some people believe that if the government controls the Internet like a public utility that innovation and new ideas will cease. They also think that they will lose the ability to choose between service providers.

This comic illustrates why many people support net neutrality and government regulation of the Internet. They believe that only big companies that can pay a lot benefit from an unregulated Internet because they have enough money access to quicker speeds. Everyone else, including most consumers, are hurt because there is not equal access to all connections and speeds on the Internet. 

There are so many things we have to consider when thinking about government regulation of the Internet and net neutrality.