The idea of net neutrality has been ingrained in our culture (without most of us being aware) for as long as we have had access to the internet. Access to the internet was seen as a right to all of humanity as it is just another means of communication tied in with the opportunity of gaining knowledge. Those that were in favor of keeping it neutral never had expected how much access would have exploded in the coming decades though, which is why net neutrality is now coming into the spotlight with strong opposition.
Net neutrality provides an equal opportunity to all vendors online to rise up from infancy to a larger corporation such as Google or Amazon. Without neutrality on the net these businesses might not have had a fighting chance to become what they are today. Everyone that has access to the web will also not be discriminated against as the entirety of the web is equal. On the other hand this could cause some problems, which is why people are now opposing net neutrality. Some online vendors will always end up using much more bandwidth than others, such as Netflix or YoutTube, but they are all treated the same under the neutrality. This can cause a lot of strain for Internet Service Providers, so in an effort to help everyone out it's believed that by providing tiered services of Internet access the people who need a stronger connection or more bandwidth can pay more to get that. The money used for this can then in turn be used to provide more infrastructure that will eventually benefit everyone.
Media has recently been giving a lot of attention to net neutrality after the recent court hearings with Verizon regarding how the FCC has no right to enforce neutrality rules. The original rules regarding net neutrality were made many years ago before the internet blossomed into what it is today, therefore the restrictions the FCC made no longer seem to be viable.
Freedom of speech can be a huge issue with network neutrality as it can inhibit it depending on what the Internet Service Provider wishes to do with your packets of data. The ISP can peer into what is being transmitted right as it is entering their network, and if it's something they do not want (maybe because they are creating a monopoly or are just simply restricting what you can view) they can prevent it from reaching the destination. This would inevitably restrict what a lot of sites could say or what kind of content they can have in order to remain on the ISP's network.
Currently where I stand in life I would not be in favor of losing net neutrality as I would be greatly affected by it. From time to time I like to partake in extensive Netflix sessions which would make me a prime candidate for one of the higher tiered members. This would probably also result in an increase for the subscription fee which is something that I would not want to pay. It's already bad enough that Netflix separated the DVD's service from the streaming one, it would be the final string if they charged more just to view the same amount that I currently do.
From what I previously stated regarding how I would have been affected by the degradation of net neutrality, and my tirade on Netflix, it would be appropriate to make the assumption that I stand in favor for net neutrality. All of the information available to us on the net should remain that way, AVAILABLE to us. There should be no restrictions on what we can do and what we can access for anyone on the Internet. By monopolizing information you can direct the flow in which people are headed, this should be avoided as we all should be able to direct our own path of knowledge be in learning about thermodynamics or fur-less cats.
Recent informative articles regarding Net Neutrality:
After reading through these articles I decided they would be a good source for anyone that wants to know more about some recent news about how net neutrality is fairing. Netflix of course is a major name in this battle as it's one of the many reasons why ISPs want to remove neutrality. These articles show how Netflix is fighting back and trying to strengthen neutrality laws, even as far as getting Obama's attention on the matter and blasting big ISPs like Verizon and Comcast to inform the public of the unfortunate end that will occur with a loss of net neutrality.
