Since 1919

The Prairie News

Since 1919

The Prairie News

Since 1919

The Prairie News

Stronger net neutrality rulings protect freedoms

Stronger+net+neutrality+rulings+protect+freedoms

On Feb. 26, the Federal Communications Commission voted in support of strong net neutrality rules, reclassifying consumer broadband as a utility under Title II of the Communications Act. It was a decision that defied months of opposition from telecom and cable companies, as well as many Republicans on Capitol Hill.

 

The FCC’s decision will allow them the authority to ban “paid prioritization,” in which Internet service providers can charge content producers a premium for giving users more reliable access to that content. The FCC will also have the power to ban the blocking and regulating of lawful content and services. Mobile web usage will also be protected under these rulings.

 

According to a fact sheet released by the FCC, they plan to enforce the new open Internet rules by processing and investigating formal and informal complaints. The FCC is now also able to address complaints at interconnection points, the gateway between ISPs and the rest of the Internet, on a case-by-case basis.

 

Net neutrality, or this idea of open Internet for all, protects First Amendment rights of citizens. The allowance of the aforementioned paid prioritization allows ISPs to censor information. Before the FCC rulings, ISPs would be free to block, throttle, favor and discriminate for any user and for any reason, or for no reason at all.

 

In November, President Obama spoke out in support of Title II and tough net neutrality rules, and the recent FCC decision has politicians battling and advocating for their respective stances. Republicans are fighting the rulings, which are likely to be challenged in court.

 

Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), who chairs the communications subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, expressed his concerns and criticisms about the FCC rulings, according to an article from the Huffington Post. Walden said he thinks it is illegal and illogical.

 

He said what the FCC did was ill-advised, and he remains “firmly committed” to a bipartisan legislative solution.

 

On the other hand, Democrats and other supporters have voiced their praise. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said the decision was a “landmark day in the history of the Internet,” according to another article from the Huffington Post.

 

Tom Wheeler, Chairman of the FCC, said the Internet is too important to allow broadband providers to be the ones making the rules.

 

Stanford University law professor Barbara van Schewick, net neutrality expert, is optimistic that the rules would prevail in court should they be challenged. She said the FCC’s decision to reclassify Internet service as a common carrier under Title II puts the rules on a solid legal foundation.

 

The rulings also have the support of tech start-ups like Tumblr, Silicon Valley giants like Google and a group called Demand Progress. The Prairie also supports stronger net neutrality.

 

Weaker net neutrality rules allow ISPs to practice censorship against American citizens, which we feel is a violation of First Amendment freedoms. Internet censorship is still censorship, which is the control or suppression of what can be accessed, published or viewed.

 

As citizens of the United States, we are all guaranteed the freedom of expression, and the Internet is just another medium on which we can actively practice our freedoms. The government should not allow for any type of censorship on any platform, and weak net neutrality rules allow just that. The FCC decsion on Feb. 26 was a tremendous victory for First Amendment freedoms.

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