Currently, our internet service is provided much like electricity—it doesn’t matter which sites you visit, just as it doesn’t matter which brand of refrigerator you have plugged in.
But that could change if the Federal Communications Commission in the U.S. votes to repeal 2015 legislation which classified internet as a telecommunications service. ISPs—or internet service providers—like AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast, advocate for a repeal to make the internet more open and free. Essentially, they want an internet without as much regulation.
If the net neutrality rules are repealed, companies would no longer be prevented from slowing down or blocking access to content online. For example, one ISP could block or slow access to content created by its competitor while maintaining the connection to its own product.
Imagine having to choose your internet package by the sites you want to access: Netflix, Facebook, Google. This is what internet could look like in the U.S. if the FCC votes to repeal Obama’s legislation. And some say that because U.S. policy has so much influence abroad, Canada could see its internet change too.
Hear how in our interview with Katy Anderson, digital rights advocate with OpenMedia.Org.
