Where Net Neutrality Stands in 2021

Last updated on June 23rd, 2022 at 04:15 am

There are several things that tend to change each year with the population regarding what people are interested in and what they research, especially when it comes to the internet. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it seemed as though everywhere people looked all they saw were details about the virus and what was being done to try to stop it or how it was impacting the lives of people across the world. Sometimes, not giving attention to a topic can result in rules and laws being passed that aren’t always best or without people knowing that the actions are even taking place. Net neutrality is one of those issues and was quite a popular topic when Barack Obama was in office.

Details of Net Neutrality
Net neutrality is the concept that details on the internet shouldn’t be restricted. Instead, people should be able to research and view what they want with minimal limitations as long as there are no illegal acts involved. No one person can take over the internet and control what’s seen. This often applies to internet service providers in today’s world instead of individuals. Providers such as Spectrum, Verizon, and HughesNet deliver the same content and service to everyone instead of blocking what is seen, keeping the lines of communication open on the internet for everyone. Some providers claim that people only state the things that could take place instead of those that do occur on the internet.

Importance
In most instances, the internet is a place where you can post and share what you want. If net neutrality is taken away, then it could result in internet providers controlling too much of what’s seen online in order to suit their viewpoints instead of trying to keep information open. Some of the major networks across the world could tap into internet providers and possibly pay them to report the news that they want others to see in order to try to influence the decisions that people make.

Against Neutrality
While it seems like net neutrality would be a good thing to have around, there are some people who aren’t completely sold on the idea. Internet service providers lead the way followed by some politicians and news outlets. Providers believe that some sites offer much more data than others, such as YouTube and Netflix. Since these sites offer more information, providers feel that customers should be charged more to view these sites, especially if they spend more time on them. Providers claim that they don’t necessarily want to control what’s seen on the internet but instead want customers to pay more for the content seen online from sites that have seemed to take over the internet.

An Open System
When the internet made its debut, it was understood that it was an open thing for people to interact with and enjoy. The United States Army is partially responsible for the development of the internet as they wanted to have a way for universities and researchers to share information. The infrastructure surrounding the internet soon promoted the concept of net neutrality and how it could be an issue in the future. When 2003 rolled around, neutrality was talked about a bit more. Obama was a supporter of neutrality before he took office. Rules were put in place in 2011 for the FCC to maintain control over net neutrality. When Trump took office, he told the FCC to remove these regulations, which resulted in businesses believing that information could be sold in order to have more control over what’s seen. It seems like providers haven’t really taken too much control quite yet, but that could all change in the future, especially closer to election periods.