Net Neutrality: This Affects You Too!

fitscientist:

Think about everything we will lose if we lose Net Neutrality… I’m going to start a bullet list.

·         Small businesses

·         Buying stuff online

·         Artists and creators

o   These groups rely on free advertising and views. If large corporations can pay to have their content viewed first or have their sites in the fast lane, it will choke out small businesses and start-ups. AND online job applications!!

·         Internet friendships

·         Long distance relationships (32.5% of college relationships and 10% of total marriages begin in a long distance relationship)

o   Long distance relationships and friendships rely on social media to communicate!  Often it is the only way people can communicate across the country or across the world for free without high costs.

·         Having readily accessible knowledge

o   Students will lose access to online resources for learning and education

o   If large corporations control what we see online based on what we pay, we might not be able to have access to the most updated or the most credible resources

·         Fair media coverage

o   Once again, controlling what we see. Controlling the news? Free speech or whatever?!

Call your congresspeople! If you’re not worried about this, you should be. Internet providers may decide to charge the heck out of us. And control what we see and hear? Yeah, that’s a no from me.