Net Neutrality

The main fact is that we think of the Internet as something that once we pay to get it, we can look and do basically whatever we want on it. I think that 10 years from now people will look back on this time and think it is crazy that we had such freedom, that is if NN does not work out. Net neutrality is an ongoing Internet battle against public vs. private interests. If it does not have an effect, this could truly be the end of the Internet, as we know it. Say you are with Rogers company, you will have a very hard time viewing any sites other than the ones paid for by Rogers and will basically have no control over what you can see anymore. This is a big deal that not enough people know about, the government has to battle with large companies money and the interest of the public, which does not go hand in hand. Society is at a point where most people could not get through each day without the internet. The more personal information and different things we sign up for on it, the more we are fueling both public and private interests and that is a scary thing.

That is why net neutrality is a good thing, it is trying to preserve the internets freedom and openness and it is the thing that will keep us from being controlled by what broadband company we are with. I guess we have been taking for granted the fact that we can get whatever information we want off the internet, it is public domain so it should stay that way but if this actually happens, just imagine what things these companies could be hiding from us, the possibilities are endless, from a huge scandal or mistake they have made, to certain sites that they may not want us seeing, but that we have a right to see. Right now the government is not dealing with the issue that this is happening so these companies are still free to do whatever they want. So next time an internet page isn’t loading, instead of absentmindedly trying something else, realize that there is probably a bigger reason as to why that is happening, an hopefully soon because of NN, it will be fixed.