Explainer: Why You Need Net Neutrality

Net neutrality took quite a hit this week, and that's a huge problem to anyone using the Internet.
You probably haven't read much about it because, like most media-centric issues, net neutrality's just not on the radar screen of the mainstream media. And that's a shame, because keeping the Internet neutral is something that affects you and your ability to access information.
In fact, it's probably one of the those things you take most for granted: You want to find out about something, so you start up the laptop and log on to a search engine, like Google. You put in a keyword or two, and soon you get a mind boggling assortment of direct hits, as well as some odds and ends.
Now, what if I told you that, soon, this may change. If we lose net neutrality, what will happen when you try to perform the same kind of search is this: the information that comes up will be dictated by advertisers, or the information will be prioritized by what your broadband provider wants you to know.
Let me guess: Right now, you're wondering if, one, you just read what you read (you did, but feel free to read it again, if you want) and two, if you're still in America (yes or, at least, what's left of the Land of the Free).
Now that you know how the issue of net neutrality affects you, here's where the issue stands. This past week, the U.S. Justice Department told the FCC in a filing that net neutrality could get in the way of Internet development or, at least, slow it down. In effect, it was a vote for anti-net neutrality, as the DOJ laid out the welcome mat for business to trample over the rights of the consumer. (The "Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act of 2006,” or COPE Act, was introduced to the Senate as an update to the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Included in the COPE Act (S. 2628) is broadband consumer rights, but the bill, which was introduced in 2006, remains stalled in the Senate.)
But, that's not all.
What's incredibly troubling about all of this is that the Internet falls into the hands of a handful of major companies: AT&T, Comcast, Verizon and Time Warner, leaving the Internet even more consolidated than radio broadcasting, which has left us without news but with plenty of predictable playlists.
Actually, a handful of companies not only control radio, but television, too. With the FCC's attempts to throw out the ban on the old cross-ownership rules, these same handful of companies have been at work buying up our newspapers, too. Now, without net neutrality to protect you and me, we stand to lose the last frontier of freedom, where everyone and anyone who logged on could tell their story, share their thoughts and, in the process, be equal to one another.