The internet as Americans know it could change in a matter of days, but few people even know or understand what is about to happen. A concept that has been debated for twenty years now, called net neutrality, could be discontinued next Thursday. In simple terms, net neutrality is the principle that internet service providers (ISPs) should be expected to treat every consumer equally, and have no bias towards websites or products.

This idea is what makes the world available at the click of a button. Without it, ISPs could determine what users could view based upon what the ISP deems acceptable. If a website published propaganda for a political view the ISP did not agree with, or a product on the market was thought to encourage behavior that does not align with the ISP values, they could prevent the public from seeing these sites, essentially robbing internet publishers of their freedom of speech.

The man threatening net neutrality is Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Ajit Pai, who incidentally used to hold a high position for Verizon, an ISP. The FCC claims that ending net neutrality won’t change the website access Americans have now, but will simply leave room for more innovation without as many government regulations.

In reality, it seems that this plan could only benefit big companies like, Google or Bing, who could pay more for faster streaming, beating the competition and leaving smaller startups behind in the process. The big players can afford more advertising and better networks, shutting out smaller websites who cannot pay to be seen.

There’s also the threat of television being changed in this process. Providers like Comcast could easily provide faster streaming to networks they own, like NBC, or those who provide the highest compensation.They could also slow down competing networks and charge higher fees for companies outside of their network.

In the last two decades the internet has become a way of life that nearly everyone in this country is familiar with, but on December 14th everything Americans have grown accustomed to could be radically changed, as websites may no longer be available and the internet may go to the highest bidder. Net neutrality has provided fair, unbiased internet access to all citizens and must continue. You can join the cause https://www.battleforthenet.com/