The media today is a mess. Accusations of ‘fake news’ are thrown left and right, especially in the USA. There are many different outlets, with very few primary, unbiased sources.  Net neutrality is a government law that states companies should “treat all data the same”. This is one of the main policies keeping the media in check. Without it, there could be a very high influx of news companies paying off internet companies to slow down their competitors. Imagine CNN slowing down Breitbart or Infowars paying to slow down Buzzfeed with your internet provider – all of that and more would be possible without the laws of net neutrality.

Net neutrality was voted to be repealed by the FCC on December 14th 2017, it was spearheaded by Ajit Pai, who is the current chairman.  The new law is set to be introduced in April of this year, just over a month away. However, there are many lawsuits aiming to slow down the progress of this bill, much like what happened with Trump’s immigrant ban for many Islamic states. Ajit Pai is currently under investigation for collusion, but unless the courts can slow it down until 2020 there is a high chance of it being passed.

If it passes, the USA will face a harsh reality in which broadband companies have more power than they already have now, especially compared to countries like The UK, New Zealand or Singapore. These countries have a real free market and competition, rather than protected monopolies which charge significantly more for worse prices such as in the USA and Australia.

Repealing net neutrality will most likely be a bad idea, and the only people it will benefit are the companies selling the internet. There is also the likely possibility that if the U.S passes this law, several other countries could follow suit, which could spell trouble for our world’s future.

There are multiple perspectives to this deeply important issue, so be sure to share your opinion below.