What Net Neutrality Means | How It Works

The initiative that the Internet Service Providers should operate and manage all data equally on the internet without any discrimination or charge in a different way by subscribers for, any content, website, Apps, kinds of attached equipment’s, or ways of communication is known as Net Neutrality. Net neutrality is also known as the open internet.

In other words, it also means that all traffic on the internet either source or destination will be treated quite effectively. Moreover, various kinds of websites will take some time to load and works in the same quality.

Within the net neutrality principle, the internet service providers are incapable of blocking, slowing down or charge extra money for specific websites and other online contents. However, this principle doesn’t block all capabilities that ISPs have to affect their consumer’s services.

Sometimes net neutrality is imposed as per the directives of the government. These rules can also be termed as ‘’common carrier’’ rules. This basic aim of this idea is to protect and safeguard the future of the open internet.

This term was originated by Tim Wu, a Media Law Professor at Columbia University back in 2003, as an extension of the long-lasting notion of a common carrier, which was basically used to explain the role of telephone systems. Net neutrality had met many fears and extortions during the past years, like ISPs creating fake packets to tamper specific kind of internet data or slowing down and completely blocking protocols and applications.

How Net Neutrality Works?

The basic technique behind net neutrality is that all content is treated equally in the eye of Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

The internet is neutral and the internet service providers are treated like public neutrality.

There are different websites like Comcast, Reddit they could slow down or speed up certain contents like Netflix but if net neutrality ends so, some companies will going to be stuck in it and users might stop using sites that once seems never to slow down.

Another example to explain the working of net neutrality is if someone wants to read any content on BBC News, Fox News or CNN, the service providers has to permit the access to all of them and load them at the same speed and time.

If net neutrality won’t be available then the internet service providers might have deals with various private content providers to make their content delivery at a faster rate with a high price.

Why We Need Net Neutrality?

Net neutrality is needed because it offers full resources of the internet and makes the internet easily accessible to individuals, corporations, and organizations. Net neutrality also opens standards, transparency, lack of internet censorship, and lowers down barriers to entry.

The idea of net neutrality propels equal treatment of all traffic data thus, it makes easy to communicate, carry out business and activities without any intervention from a third party.

Here mentioned below are some other reasons why we need net neutrality:

• Net Neutrality Promotes Innovation:

When the internet is neutral so, it promotes innovation. There are various companies who have made most of the money due to their access to the internet, as they were able to get started on the same footing. Now due to net neutrality big enterprises still enjoy the same access as freelancers or SMBs and in this way, everyone is able to acquire the same level of information along with a comfortable living.

• Net Neutrality Offers Freedom of Expression:

If websites such as blogs, services, and cooperations follow the law so, they are able to function legally. There would be no censorship until the laws will be broken. If net neutrality won’t be present so, the service providers could possibly censor libellous content and even content by which they are not satisfied and agree.

• Net Neutrality is an Equal Playing Field:

Net neutrality is important and needed because it has enabled businesses of all sizes to offer to their users with extremely appropriate content tailor-made to meet specific needs, while net neutrality has permitted numerous bloggers to attract huge target audience by sharing contents that they are fervent and obsessive about.

• Net Neutrality Prevents and Monitors Illegal Activities:

The basic aim of net neutrality is to provide an optimal experience to everyone. In other words, open net prevents illegal activities which include the sharing of the illegal file, due to the fact that each service providers would be treated as a controlled common carrier.

What is FCC Net Neutrality?

In 2005, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) for the first time pass an anti-discrimination set of rules for the internet in a policy statement. Within these set of rules, the internet service providers were prohibited from blocking legal content or stopping the users from connecting the devices of their choice for internet connections.

Later during the Obama era back in 2010, FCC passed more comprehensive net neutrality directives which were expected to stand up to legal inspection. However, the agency was prosecuted by Verizon. Surprisingly, in 2014, the same court declared that FCC does not have the power to impose net neutrality rules on services that weren’t considered common carries under Title II of the Communication Act, similar to the traditional telephone services.

In 2015, FCC passed full and wide net neutrality directives but unfortunately was again prosecuted by various telecommunication firms. The same federal court which previously shot down the FCC’s efforts at net neutrality regulations finally agreed that the 2015 net neutrality regulations were legal.

The situation again goes out of hands after the general elections of 2016. After coming into power, President Donald Trump in January 2017, appointed new FCC Commissioner.

It was Ajit Pai who was given the sole responsibility of the agency’s new chairman. The newly appointed chairman in April 2017, publicized a plan to reverse the 2015 net neutrality directives.

The new FCC vote successfully threw out the 2015 rules as a whole. The new FCC’s regulations drop the status of common-carrier for all internet service providers, along with any kind of restrictions on blocking and regulating the content. However, the new set of rules require that the service providers need to disclose information about their network-management practices.

Net Neutrality Rules and Current Bill:

In December 2017, the FCC repealed the Obama-era‘s net neutrality rules prohibits the service providers from blocking or slowing down internet access or charging extra money for specific content.

Upon the FCC decision, the USA’s landmark’s net neutrality regulations have been expired on June 11^th, 2018. The previous rules were projected to make sure an unrestricted and open internet, provide equal access of web content to all the users while the new set of rules compels the service providers to inform users either they will block or slow content or offer paid fast lanes.

In July 2018, Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO), in a much-expected effort to restore the open net provisions introduced a bill which would order free internet rules into the law. The bill was entitled as ‘’The 21^st Century Internet Act’’, the measure would introduce the basic outlines of the FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order, under which the throttling, harmful paid prioritization practices, and blocking of content was banned.

What’s the Issue with Net Neutrality?

The main issue with net neutrality is that it may choke business growth as the opposition primarily consist of internet service providers, networking hardware corporations and also pro-market supporters.

The opponents of net neutrality claim that the money earned from higher rates and exclusive company’s deals would also open the door for much-needed investments in the overall network infrastructure of the country. However, this would, in turn, improve speeds and services for users in long term.

There are some other issues associated with net neutrality like many opponents might assume that net neutrality is a way of discriminating the data, content caching, service quality, and pricing the models too.

What do the users want from net neutrality?

The internet users want the internet to abide by its promise, promoting innovation, freedom, and creativity. Moreover, the users don’t want the internet service providers to act as a gatekeeper, making deals with corporations and also preventing new competition, improvement, novelty, and expressions.

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