Is Net Neutrality Good or Bad?

John Oliver, a comedian on HBO, has a show called “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” where he pokes fun at current global issues.

On one show he talked about net neutrality. Net neutrality is the idea that Internet service providers and governments should treat all data on the Internet equally. The Internet has become so important in everyday life that it is easy to imagine that it will always remain the free and open medium it is now. But there are no guarantees. The Internet is becoming more secure and regulated everyday by the FCC and Internet providers. As an active Internet user myself I would like to see the Internet become a place free of discrimination and judgment. But in my heart I know that this is nearly impossible. On May 15, the FCC voted to propose a new “open Internet” rule that may let Internet service providers charge content companies for priority treatment, relegating other content to a slower tier of service. Under these rules, telecom giants like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon would be able to pick winners and losers online and discriminate against online content and applications. To give these companies that much power to be able to choose what users see is outrageous in my mind. Without Net Neutrality, Internet Service Providers like AT&T, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Verizon will be able to block content and speech they don’t like. In my mind, the FCC needs to create laws that restrict companies from doing this so that everyone has the freedom of speech online and have the opportunity to reach the world as their audience.

I would say that the principle of all data online being treated equally is a good thing but is extremely complicated due to the fact that there is online terrorism and other illegal behavior. For example, the terrorist organization ISIS that the United States is fighting against right now in Syria and Iraq has proven its existence and seriousness through uploading content on the Internet. Just last week, ISIS posted multiple videos online of two American Journalists being beheaded as a threat to America and President Obama. Are we supposed to treat this data the same as all other data? Another example of how net neutrality is extremely complicated to achieve is a site called Silk Road. Silk Road is a hidden site on the Internet that is used to buy and sell illegal drugs and weapons. Before being busted it had done over 1 Billion dollars in sales. Are we still supposed to treat all data online equally? Illegal and discriminating content is uploaded to the Internet all of the time and it leads to many investigations and convictions. In a way net neutrality is good, but if we look at all data equally, we may miss the opportunity to eradicate crime.

Net neutrality can be both helpful to our society and hurtful. It could be hurtful because people wouldn’t be able to express their ideas freely to the world. It could be helpful because kids who are on the Internet wouldn’t see the disgusting and illegal things that happen in this world everyday.