Net Neutrality

Now, I didn't plan on making a post about this, or anything directly political... but this affects everyone in America. If you are American, and you use the internet, you are going to be affected by the upcoming FCC vote. Here is a link that will help you more than I can.

But, in case you don't understand how to navigate the link, and/or don't want to click it, I can try and give you a quick rundown that hopefully helps you understand why this is such a big deal. I'm far from the most knowledgeable on the subject, but I understand just enough to know this is something important, and it's now or never.



Net Neutrality, simply, is saying that all websites on the internet are treated equally, in the sense that all websites have the same access to the internet without any one website being given any special treatment. Such as, Google, Facebook, Reddit, 4Chan, Blogger, and all other websites you may frequent, all have the same access to the internet on the same exact wavelength. What the FCC wants to do, is get rid of Net Neutrality, which means whoever is your internet provider, can allow some websites to load faster than others, or load at all. This means that the information you receive can very easily be manipulated by biased corporations who don't want you to read certain things or go to certain websites, and they can do this by making your connection to whatever website they deem "dangerous" or whatever other term they want to use, slower or even cost more. What's very possible, which is one of the biggest reasons this is being so talked about, is if you want to access certain websites (think 4chan, or even Scaffies is possible), your internet provider can legally ask you to pay extra to access these websites.

Right now, you pay... let's say, $20 per month. This is likely incorrect, but let's just go with it. For $20 a month, you are allowed to access every single website without much difference in the speed at which you can access it. If Net Neutrality gets killed, internet providers can, and likely will, have $20 be the starting fee, and you will only be able to access the more basic websites, such as CNN, Fox, or whatever. Or, they will let whichever corporation gives them the most money be shoved in this starter package. For $40, they will allow you to access more websites, $50, for more, and so on and so on. This like Cable, where the basic channels are available to everyone, and you have to pay more to get access to more. But instead of TV channels, it's websites.

This is bad, and it shouldn't be this way. The only reason this is happening is because of greedy corporations who only care about making more money. I could go on, but you really should read about this from people who know more about it than I do, and hopefully, contact your elected officials. And I understand some of you think that "oh, there's nothing I can do, what's one person going to do? I have better things to do."

No. It's that mentality that got Donald Trump elected, it's the mentality that's going to kill the free internet. If you choose not to do anything, that's on you. But I, a frequent internet user, am sickened that this is happening and I want to do everything I can to help stop this. There still is time, congress can stop this from happening. But only if enough people make their voices heard. Yes, politicians don't always do what's best for everyone. But they almost always do what would get them elected, and if enough of the people in their town, county, state, etc make it known that THIS IS IMPORTANT TO THEM, they can vote against the upcoming FCC bill and save Net Neutrality. I implore any Americans who are reading this, even if it's just 15 people. Please, do something to make your voice be heard. Spread the word.

Thank you for reading, and please. Please, try and help stop Net Neutrality from being killed. Click this link if you are unsure, and try to become informed. Do your own research too, this is something worth trying to get into before it's too late.