Why Net Neutrality is Important

Hello, everyone and welcome to this blog that I have created to raise awareness for one of the most important topics facing people in the 21st Century: Net Neutrality.

What is net neutrality? Net neutrality is the principle that Internet Service Providers and the government should treat any information shared on the Internet equally without discrimination toward content creators and without charging or blocking people from viewing certain sites. The idea of Net Neutrality was actually in existence since the 1860's, long before the Internet was even an idea but the term itself was actually coined in the early 2000's. For years, the US government has been locked in an endless stream of legal battles over whether or not net neutrality should be made law.

The most recent case against Net Neutrality occurred on January 14, 2014 when the DC District Court ruled in favor of Verizon that the Federal Communications Commission has no right to enforce net neutrality laws on the grounds that service providers are not common carriers. That means that Verizon and other providers have the right to control what sites their customers see and the right to block consumers from viewing certain sites that they find offensive.

There are many reasons why Net Neutrality must be allowed to exist. For one thing, the Internet is successful primarily because it has opened the ways to how we communicate with each other; view original content created by regular people like you and me; and has opened up new jobs in a society where unemployment runs rampant. If the service providers control the Internet it will undermine the success of the Internet and most importantly if they are allowed to slow and block various sites, it is an infringement on the consumer's First Amendment rights (most notably Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press, which also includes anything posted on the Internet.)

In conclusion, the preservation of Net Neutrality is important because the Internet is the key to the future prosperity of the world, in terms of economy, advancement of society, communication and stability.