NET NEUTRALITY

The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) wants to begin regulating the internet. Specifically, the FCC envisions the internet like the phone companies; they are able to regulate these companies currently. The positive side of net neutrality would mean that companies would not be able to give one customer an advantage over other customers by manipulating the traffic that each company receives. With net neutrality, the companies would not be able to block the traffic, which has been done in the past, from any one company.

It sounds like a good idea to some; net neutrality would make the whole internet “neutral” where one company does not benefit from the blocked traffic of another company. The problem I am concerned about is the government taking on more regulation duties. The FCC was regulating television when the Janet Jackson incident happened at the Super Bowl. People were up in arms about this and the FCC began discussing fines for stations that violate decency guidelines. With net neutrality these same types of disputes may begin with the internet as its subject.

Terrestrial radio also had its issues with the FCC. A radio station in San Diego that I was listening to for the Howard Stern Show decided to sabotage its own business after the Super Bowl incident and took Howard’s show off the air when Howard was not even part of the incident. Their rating plunged. They must have panicked and were unwilling to fight for their business so they willingly trashed it. I had no reason to listen to this station after that and a lot of people, apparently, agreed with me.

If you do not think that expanding the FCC’s reach into the internet is a good idea, the website http://americansforprosperity.org can help you contact your Senators to tell them to stop net neutrality legislation.