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‘Net neutrality’ is a winning decision

2 min read

The Internet is a kind of free-for-all, and that’s both good and bad.

Bad, inasmuch as the flame-throwing rhetoric that characterizes online exchanges, carried out under the protective shroud of anonymity, plays a substantial part in degrading our everyday discourse. And the easily gulled can too often be suckered into buying claims peddled on the Web that haven’t passed through the vetting process traditional media mostly supplied in the days when “the web” was still known primarily as something a spider would weave.

On the other hand, the Internet pried open a universe of information, and it’s one in which all comers are, for the most part, regarded equally – a vegan society in the Alaskan outback is treated no better or worse than a megaconglomerate like McDonald’s. And a decision late last month by the Federal Communications Commission will ensure, at least for the time being, it stays that way.

By a 3-2 vote, with all Democratic appointees voting yes and all Republican appointees voting no, the FCC affirmed the notion of “net neutrality,” which would prevent broadband Internet providers from creating a world of haves and have-nots online by speeding up or slowing down access to certain sites, or allowing providers to curtail access to sites they don’t like. It would also stop them from tacking extra fees onto the bills of consumers if they, for example, would like the streaming movies and series they get from Netflix, Amazon or any other source to continue arriving at the correct speed.

Consumers, clearly, are the biggest winners in this decision, as are small-business owners and entrepreneurs who can, at least on the web, go toe to toe with the most towering Goliaths in their fields.

Fundamentally, the decision treats the Internet as public property, much like a utility.

“The Internet is too important to allow broadband providers to make the rules,” said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler.

The decision could still face threats through lawsuits and from lawmakers in hock to corporations that hope to wring a few additional dollars from the World Wide Web. But, for now, it will remain wide open and equal.

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