Internet Neutrality is Under Constant Threat

For over 40 long years, humans have used the internet to freely communicate and to share information with other people from across the globe. It has widely become the primary mainstream media for valuable information. What separates the internet from other forms of media is because of its free nature. People are able to access the internet at the same time contributors and website owners are able to upload information without having the need to pay extra costs or spend a lot of money. Besides, the internet was developed to benefit everyone who intends to use it.

Today, internet freedom and neutrality is under constant threat from capitalists and opportunists who would like to filter internet usage and give more exposure to websites who are able to pay and subscribe to certain packages and deals. Removing internet neutrality would easily mean putting filters in the usage of information and the posting of content. It will control the flow of communication where one needs to pay a certain fee in order to access a certain level of information.

Just recently, major carriers such as AT&T proposed to sell the right to websites or applications in order to get maximum exposure. Websites who are able to pay a required fee will get better services and will be able to load their sites faster while other non-paying sites will be reduced to second-tier service. This will greatly impact non-profit organizations and small business who might not afford the fees asked from them. Wikipedia.org, which is one of the most popular and most used dictionary-encyclopedia website, is in danger of collapse because of this potential change in the governing rules of the internet.

Google on the mean time is evaluating a possible deal with Verizon in making Youtube more popular and better exposed to the public. If this proposal is approved, Youtube will easily crash all other video sharing and video streaming competitors. In case not everybody knows about this, several breakthrough websites were products of internet neutrality. The widely popular social media site Facebook started as only as a school project and eventually grown into one of the most widely used today. With the proposal of Internet Neutrality, these talents and breakthroughs will struggle to make it through mainstream media.

In this turn of events, let us also realize that it is also our own freedom that is very much at stake. Let us not allow these capitalists to shatter the 40+ years of absolute freedom enjoyed by millions of internet users worldwide. By influencing our politicians with our votes, we can tell them to fight for internet neutrality and preserve the usefulness of the internet.