Gabriella Pinos/Staff Writer
The past two years have been a tumultuous time in America, full of disagreement and bitter rivalries.But if there’s anything most citizens agreed on when it came to legislation, it was that net neutrality should not be repealed.
Net neutrality refers to the principle that internet service providers should treat all content on the web equally, with no discrimination between websites or services. In December 2017, the Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal net neutrality through Chairman Ajit Pai’s Restoring Internet Freedom Order in a 3-2 vote.
Prior to this vote, when net neutrality was on the cutting board, thousands of Americans banded together in protest, fighting for their internet freedom. Citizens contacted their congressmen and congresswomen to save net neutrality, tech companies like Netflix sided against the repeal, and an open letter signed by over 900 YouTube creators urged Pai and Congress to oppose legislation that threatened the regulations.
Culminating prior to the FCC’s decision, net neutrality advocacy spread across the internet like wildfire. The Internet-Wide Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality was held on July 12, 2017, where tech companies and advocacy groups came together to protest the FCC’s repeal of net neutrality. Protesters took to the streets, rallying in front of Verizon stores across the United States with signs that said, “Keep the Internet Free,” according to CNET.
In its last days, net neutrality received a lot of attention, most of which was focused on reviving it for the foreseeable future. From the American Civil Liberties Union to websites like Reddit, Kickstarter and PrnHub, it seemed like the entire internet was against Pai’s decision.
But those efforts were fruitless, and protesters, advocates, and the internet itself were devastated after the December 2017 vote. At least, until they forgot about it a few weeks later.
The repeal kicked in on June 11, 2018, and so far, the internet has changed very little. Comcast and Verizon are still powerful, corrupt companies, streaming services are doing just fine, and social media is more popular than ever. The scary image of a deserted internet landscape where the rich and poor are divided into fast and slow lanes hasn’t happened – yet.
What saddens me the most is that people seem to have forgotten about what they were fighting for. While the effects of net neutrality’s repeal won’t be felt for some time, the internet advocates clamoring for their internet rights have all but disappeared. Websites like battleforthenet.com remind citizens that the fight for net neutrality isn’t over, that it’s up to us to persuade our congressperson to support it, but people don’t seem to care anymore. Net neutrality has become nothing more than the internet issue of the month, something that people complained about when it was popular.
But that doesn’t mean the conversation surrounding net neutrality is over, both online and in Congress. Companies such as Mozilla have sued the FCC over their decision and “overstepping its authority,” according to CNET. The FCC is expected to defend its actions in the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia on Feb. 1, 2019.
In July 2018, Representative Mike Coffman from Colorado, the first Republican to stand for net neutrality in the House, introduced a bill that would involve “no throttling, no blocking, no paid prioritization and oversight of interconnection,” according to Reuters. And, now that the House of Representatives is under Democrat control, representatives like Finkenauer and Coffman have a better platform for discussing and even restoring the old laws.
Even after its death, net neutrality is still getting some love by those in important positions of power. However, if these regulations are to survive, the people who use it the most – the average citizens – shouldn’t forget about its importance.
Net neutrality isn’t just another internet issue, it changes the way we consume the world. The laws that govern our internet usage must be fair and equal for everyone, and without net neutrality, we don’t live under those laws. Congressmen and congresswomen can try all they want to revive old regulations, but without the voice and enthusiasm of the people, net neutrality doesn’t have a platform to stand on.
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