Should we accept net neutrality as the wave of the future?
In our modern day world, the Internet has become a major part of daily life. From keeping in touch with family overseas through Skype to buying the newest video game release on Amazon, the Internet has revolutionized communication globally in so many ways. Therefore, the topic of net neutrality concerns just about everyone and is an important issue going forward into the future.
Unfortunately, there’s no doubt that ISPs have total leverage on how they price their services. They are motivated by what is best for them in terms of achieving profits. There is no stopping how they should conduct their business. If they believe they can charge their customers for a plan a high price without having a negative impact on their overall profit, then they are free to do so. They can also slow down Internet speeds and place a data cap so no one can take full advantage of their services. The goal of net neutrality is to focus on the consumer and make the playing field fair and equal for everyone accessing the Internet.
I think the best way to approach the issue of net neutrality is to ask yourself if having access to the Internet is a basic need. The Internet has become more than just a place to look up information and provide casual entertainment. It is a place where we shop with a click of a button and send money to people across the world instantly. Having the federal government regulate the Internet may sound scary but these regulations are in place for our best interests. Net neutrality prevents ISPs from throttling network traffic on websites that they think are competing against them. Net neutrality ensures Internet connections are treated equally and that our rights to use the connection are met.
The resentment that arises concerning Internet and lack of privacy holds no ground. There seems to be a paradox in wanting an open and transparent Web but also not letting anyone see our personal information. We assume companies such as Google would let us use their services for free without giving up something in return. That is pretty foolish to believe. They have their own interests in mind. It comes with the territory that using the World Wide Web renders us vulnerable to other parties using our information for nefarious reasons. There are steps you can take to mitigate these privacy concerns and everyone should adhere to basic precautions when surfing the web. In conclusion, it’s a complete oversight to go against net neutrality because of privacy concerns when the good outweighs the bad.