Internet Association Fight Net Neutrality
It is official that on April 23rd Net Neutrality will officially end in the US. Exactly what that will mean is unclear, but the worst case scenario is that the internet is sold back to consumers as premium packages in bits and pieces. While this may not have any necessary impact on the rest of the world, it is worth noting that in the UK both Vodafone and 3 are under investigation.
With the end nigh, however, a Washington based lobby group called the ‘Internet Association’ has lodged a formal motion to dismiss the repeal of the Net Neutrality protections.
Motion To Deny!
When the FCC revealed they were planning to abolish Net Neutrality protections I must admit I was personally shocked at the manner in which they did it. Announcing it quietly just before Thanksgiving and giving only around 2-3 weeks for protectionist groups to rally, I have always felt that they crowbarred the repeal through the back door.
https://youtu.be/ltzy5vRmN8Q
Despite this, however, a number of major business and corporations have already spoken out against the repeal. Facebook and Amazon are already known to be against it and as can be seen in the above video, Burger King found a genius way to explain the abolition to those who may not necessarily understand it.
Will the motion achieve anything?
Likely not. The FCC ruling passed based on party lines and with a Republican President, that isn’t likely going to change. If nothing else, however, it may highlight again to the FCC that this is not what the people or businesses in America want. The abolition of Net Neutrality suits only 1 group. The telecommunication companies.
What do you think? Are you for or against Net Neutrality? Do you think the group will have any success in their motion? In addition, do you worry about the future of your country and the internet? – Let us know in the comments!
