Net Neutrality – Is the government ever neutral with anything?
Jun 15, 2016, 4:54 PM | Updated: 4:54 pm
A court decision recently came down that hasn’t received enough attention. The FCC has decided to reclassify the internet as a utility. Does it strike you as a utility?
It’s not a utility but the FCC has decided it is so they can manage it. And this management of the internet involves that great phrase – net neutrality.
ISPs used to simply connect you to the internet, but what they really are now are content providers. The entertainment industry bought up all the ISPs and they’ve begged the government for regulations. Now companies like Comcast have certain portions of the country locked up. It’s pay to play.
Netflix said that places like Comcast were making their content run slower because Comcast was ‘deprioritizing’ Netflix’s content. They wanted people to use Comcast’s content, so the Government stepped in and has ruled that Comcast can’t throttle, slow down, other companies content any more.
They call this level playing field net neutrality. But who decides what neutral means? And is the government innately neutral?
It’s not a conspiracy theory to point out that the Obama administration has floated the idea, since day one, that certain content is more valuable than other content. This FCC is the same one that floated the idea of putting FCC observers in newsrooms! The same FCC that says they are going to make the net neutral.
Neutrality by government is determined through who is in control. It’s fair for whoever is in charge.