Hey Facebook. Please pay attention to this post. It's long, but it is extremely important not only to me, but to all of us.
If you don't want to read this entire post, please scroll to the bottom, where I'll have a link to a post from The Internet Association which offers another explanation of the fight for net neutrality. But seeing as this is something important to me, I think it would be more beneficial to explain things in my own words.
Today is an internet day of action in support of net neutrality. I hear your groaning and I understand, but I promise I'll keep this simple. All you need to do is read it.
Currently, you can do whatever you want with your internet service, and there aren't any restrictions on which services or sites you use. The FCC and major internet service providers like Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, and many others, want to take this away. Why? They'll make more money by doing so. What a shocker.
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So let's present two scenarios: scenario 1 will be John Doe's life as it is now, with net neutrality laws in place. Scenario 2 is John Doe's life after net neutrality is eliminated by the FCC.
Scenario 1:
John Doe currently pays $60 per month for his internet service with Verizon. He mostly streams movies and TV on Netflix and Hulu, plays a few games on his Playstation, and heads to social sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit. There aren't any restrictions on what he does; he pays for his service and he can do whatever he pleases with it.
Scenario 2:
John gets a letter from Verizon that his monthly internet payment has gone down to $39.99. Awesome, right?
John opens his laptop and heads to Facebook to post about how his internet just got way cheaper, and he sees a message from Verizon at the top of the page. He can still browse Facebook as normally, but if he wants to watch videos that his friends have posted and shared, he'll have to add the Facebook Premium package with Verizon for $9.99 per month.
Later, John decides to catch up with Stranger Things on Netflix. He goes through two episodes and notices that it's taking longer to load the third episode. He then sees an advertisement from Verizon, offering faster Netflix loading speeds for $9.99 per month. Frustrated, John turns on his Playstation 4 to play Call of Duty online with his friends. After 60 minutes of playing, he's kicked from the server, and informed via a message that to have more time to play, he'll have to subscribe to the Gaming Premium package from Verizon for $9.99 per month.
Now John is paying more for his internet service than he was before, and he's only visited three websites. If he wants to use additional services who aren't partnered with Verizon, he'll either need to pay more money or may not be able to ever use them again.
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The second option seems both worse and far more complicated, correct? If we don't take action, that's exactly how things are going to be. The end of net neutrality equals the FCC and your internet service provider being able to tell you what to do. If Verizon doesn't like that Sprint is the official mobile provider for the NBA, guess what? Verizon can deny anyone using its service from accessing NBA services, including NBA.com and watching games through NBA League Pass. The NBA is just one example of this. It could happen to any service, including Netflix, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, Hulu, Vimeo, and even to social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
So what can you do? All you need to do is go to http://www.battleforthenet.com and you can enter your name, e-mail address, and your location to send a pre-written letter to the FCC and to your representative in Congress. You can add your own letter if you wish. The first day of deliberation for Congress is July 17, next Monday. Make your voice heard prior to that date.
It takes just a moment to add your name to the list of those supporting net neutrality. If you read this post, please feel free to share it both on Facebook and with your friends, coworkers, and families. The only way to keep a free and open internet is for us to band together and fight for it.
Thank you for reading.