Net Neutrality Ensures the General Essay

Another problem with data discrimination is that search engines like Google might not yield the best information. It is one thing for Google to allow for advertisements in a separate section from search results. It is quite another for Google to only yield search results for paying customers.

Some ISPs claim that the consumer would benefit from value-added services to make the Internet faster or more secure. Yet the principle of net neutrality suggests that all users should benefit from such technologies. The basic protocols on which the Internet operates should not be elitist. Net neutrality ensures that all persons have equal access to information. Information is power; to restrict access to only those who can afford certain services exacerbates income and power disparities in the world.

Consumers already do accept the fact that bandwidth costs money. We pay a fee to an ISP because ISPs maintain the cables or satellite systems on which the Internet depends.Similarly, consumers understand that some Websites are private and may request a subscription fee for services rendered. Most consumers understand that business is business and have no trouble with the status quo. The problem is not with paying for services rendered; the issue of net neutrality is one of democracy. One of the main reasons to fight for net neutrality is to prevent the free world from managing the Internet the way that China, Vietnam, and other countries do. In many countries around the world, the Internet is monitored so that access to certain Websites including Facebook and YouTube is limited. Even in democratic nations, net neutrality is falling apart. For example, it is impossible to watch certain YouTube videos in some areas due to access restrictions.

Works Cited

Whitt, Richard. "Facts about our network neutrality policy proposal." Google Public Policy Blog. Retrieved online: http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/search/label/Net%20Neutrality.....