Net neutrality faxbot7/20/2023 ![]() Thankfully, a new bill brings us that much closer. We are badly in need of a federal response in the form of net neutrality protections. Making matters worse, most of us have little choice of home broadband providers, and many have only one-a perfect monopoly. In addition to charging you for access to the internet, they can charge services for access to you, driving up costs artificially. They can block a service they don’t like. ![]() In most states, these companies can throttle your service-or that of, say, a fire department fighting the largest wildfire in state history. Opponents say the plan could incentivize companies to violate net neutrality principles and use internet service providers outside the EU, which would negatively affect the security and quality of some internet services.Right now, Americans live in a country where the companies that control our access to the internet face little-to-no oversight. Proponents of the plan argue drivers of internet traffic should pay for the upkeep and expansion of internet infrastructure. tech firms to maintain Europe’s telecommunication network. The European Union is considering taxing Google, Netflix, Facebook and other large U.S. Some legislation prevents rich companies from buying faster internet and stops providers from exempting their own content (like streaming services) from contributing to customers’ data caps, which some say helps small or cash-strapped companies compete with giants like Netflix or Google. Proponents argue net neutrality ensures everyone gets the same access to the internet regardless of wealth or status and prevents internet service providers from controlling what information consumers can access. Others predict net neutrality rules could ultimately raise costs for consumers, because if providers can’t charge different amounts for different services, they will start charging consumers based on the number of people using the network, forcing everyone to pay more. Writer and internet analyst Larry Downes further asserts Internet service providers generally uphold net neutrality without specific regulations because of market pressure and the oversight of the Federal Trade Commission. Opponents of net neutrality generally argue preventing internet service providers from charging different prices for different services removes all incentive for providers to innovate or invest in expanding their bandwidth. President Biden is working to bring federal net neutrality regulation back-he signed an executive order in July 2021 asking the FCC to bring back some Obama-era protections and nominated Gigi Sohn to join the deadlocked FCC three months later-but has been largely unsuccessful. California’s 2018 net-neutrality bill was challenged three times in court by internet service providers and the Department of Justice before the companies stopped their legal fight in May 2022. The FCC repealed the 2015 net neutrality rules in December 2017 under then-President Trump, touching off a series of legal battles concerning the right of states to impose their own net-neutrality rules. The order gave the FCC authority over internet service providers by reclassifying them as telecommunications services, and implemented rules preventing providers from blocking or slowing down legal internet content or charging more for better service. The Federal Communication Commission first enshrined the principles of net neutrality in 2005, but was denied the legal authority to enforce them until the Open Internet Order passed in 2015 under then-President Obama. California, Colorado, Maine, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont and Washington have passed state net neutrality legislation.
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