Yesterday President Obama asked the Federal Communications Commission to place stricter rules on Internet regulations in support of net neutrality in a two-page statement and a two-minute online video.
Net neutrality is the idea that all Internet data should be treated equally in so much as there is no discrimination or added charges based on user, content, size, platform, application, type of attached equipment or mode of communication. Debates surrounding net neutrality center on whether or not Internet ought to be a common carrier, meaning it provides public telecommunications facilities.
The issue came into the public eye after Comcast announced on Feb. 13, 2014 that they were merging with Time Warner Cable. This merger not only creates a potential cable tv monopoly, but it also poses a threat to net neutrality. Because the merger leaves Comcast as the only Internet and cable provider in several of the largest markets, Comcast has the power to slow down the speed of certain websites if they do not pay more or meet their demands.
This means that if Netflix, for example, refuses to comply with Comcast’s demands, than their website will load slower than a competitor such as Amazon Prime. Netflix then either has to pay the price dictated by Comcast or lose customers who become frustrated with the amount of time it takes for their video to load. If Netflix were to pay the higher price, the costs would then be imposed on members in the form of a slightly more expensive membership fee.
Yesterday, The Los Angeles Times published an article titled “Obama urges net neutrality; Cruz calls it ‘Obamacare for the Internet.” In it, Obama is quoted saying, “Ever since the Internet was created, it’s been organized around basic principles of openness, fairness and freedom. There are no gatekeepers deciding which sites you get to access. There are no toll roads on the information superhighway. Abandoning these principles would threaten to end the Internet as we know it.”
Later that day, an ABC News article titled, “5 Major Ways the Internet Could Change Without Net Neutrality,” lists the following consequences of not having net neutrality: degraded service, higher costs, less innovation, uneven service / faster service for some and greater technological divide by income and demographic.
Comcast has said that they would not charge more for faster bandwidth for some websites, and so far, they have not given the general public a reason not to believe them. However, without a law prohibiting it, there is nothing stopping Comcast or any other internet provider from deciding to charge more for faster bandwidth. This editorial board believes that net neutrality is a good thing that promotes a freer flow of information and a free press. As a result, we support the president’s efforts to get the internet listed as a common carrier.