We, as privileged first world citizens, complain when anything does not go our way. The line at Chick-fil-A takes too long…complain. The barista puts too much milk in our coffee…complain. The person in front of us on the interstate cuts us off when we try and merge…complain. And probably most common, our iPhone takes too long to download anything…the most complaining.
What is the common ground in all of these situations? We are an impatient body of individuals and like to be treated fairly and efficiently. Well, there is one thing that we do not like to be favorited on at all. We do not like when people have access to things faster, more efficiently, and more practically than we do. And what is the solution to this you ask? I have two words. NET. NEUTRALITY.
Net Neutrality is the idea that all the content flowing through cables and cell towers should be treated equally. Organizations should not have the ability to block you or slow you down from accessing competing resources. Net neutrality gives off the impression that it is only a concept that is dealt with “net”works. However, the concept of net neutrality has been around long before the internet was a common phenomenon.
Net neutrality first began with "common carriers" such as telegrams and telephones. During these times, providers of these practical services were not allowed to discriminate against their consumers. For instance, telephone companies could not block consumer calls to competing phone servicing companies.
Fast forward in history quite a bit to the year 2007. This is when the debates about net neutrality first hit the headlines because of the broadband Internet connections that were coming about. The United States jumped from having large numbers of dial-up ISPs [internet service provider] to smaller numbers in order to limit competition across the nation. As a result, the debate heated quite a bit when the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] complaining against Comcast for trying to control their file-sharing software.
From 2008-2017, internet carriers continued to push back against the concept of net neutrality. Because Americans really have access to only a couple high-speed internet providers, there is no true choice of ISP. Because of the lack of options, customers have very few alternatives to ISPs if they were to be blocked. However, this was partially resolved in 2015 when President Barrack Obama put in extensive regulations to prevent and protect throttling network traffic.
A mere two years later in 2017, President Donald Trump reversed all the work that had been done in favor of net neutrality by putting a net neutrality opposer as the chairman of the FCC. As a result, many Americans are left in an ISP monopoly and have no net neutrality protection.
Less than a year later, California became bold and set forth their own net neutrality law. It states that net neutrality violations will result in some sort of punished jurisdiction.
Now that we have gotten through the history of net neutrality, it is time to discuss it on a more personal level. I am very privileged and blessed to live in the city, nation, and season of life that I am in right now. College has been such a gift to do in this time in history and I am soaking in every moment. However, I try to not dwell on this season because it is not going to last forever. I am constantly embracing the moment but thinking what the world *could* be in a mere five years' time.
I personally think that net neutrality is something that needs to be focused on quite heavily. Providing students, parents, work individuals, educators, and business leaders with the same access to resources in a timely manner is so important. By favoring one group of people, we are giving rise to the fact that there is someone out there more important than me. Though they may have a different level of education, a different socioeconomic status, or a different title, does not make their role in society any more important than mine.
Current FCC chair, Jessica Rosenworcel states that the former net neutrality rules, appealed by President Trump, will be reinstated in the near future. This allows so many individuals to be put on an equal playing field when it comes to the realm of neutrality in the field of the internet. I feel that this desire for net neutrality across the globe is such an easy way to implement fairness in one simple way. We are such a divided nation in the fields of economics, religion, and politics, that some way to provide a sense of equality is a great way to start.
Looking forward to the future, this concept of net neutrality can greatly impact where I decide to plant myself after college. I may not have the resources to have the best provider out there. So, it is important to me to have equal net neutrality here, now, and always moving forward.
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