Net Neutrality: How Much Do We Value a Free Internet?

This past spring, US Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced plans to roll back Net Neutrality regulations. In hopes of “Restoring Internet Freedom”, Pai plans to reduce the government’s involvement in the access of data and information online. Widely seen as an attempt to diminish Internet freedoms and create a path toward allowing providers to gain unfair advantages over competitors, large tech, media, and digital companies immediately took to the net to voice their concerns.

Now, with the vote to reverse the current regulations looming (Dec.14), Net Neutrality is back in headlines. A term few could define a year ago, Net Neutrality has become the spark igniting a fervent debate over the role of government in business and the value of open-access to the Internet in the 21st Century.   

What is Net Neutrality?

The idea of open-access to the Internet has been a point of debate for decades; despite its popularity, even the current F.C.C. Net Neutrality regulations just barely passed in 2015, by a slim 3-2 margin. Under the policy, service providers are no longer able to restrict or throttle content online, meaning they cannot block out competitors by reducing online traffic and slowing down competing sites.

Under Chairman Pai’s oversight, the F.C.C. intends to reverse Net Neutrality regulations, which would restore the Internet to its pre-2015 state, where providers are no longer restricted by rules intended to broaden access to information and create a more open environment online.

What are the Arguments?

The debate over open-access to the Internet often turns into an argument over Title II of the Communications Act versus Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act. Under Title II, broadband providers would be classified as “common carriers” instead of “information service providers”, allowing the F.C.C. to regulate providers by arguing that the Internet is not a special service and should be a utility accessible to everyone.

Contrarily, those that prioritize Section 706 believe providers ought to be less restricted and able to operate more freely, in terms of investment, growth, and innovation. Chairman Pai’s primary goal, achieved by stripping away Net Neutrality, is to allow small, next-generation networks the space to grow and “spend capital to build out networks.” 

Should Net Neutrality be Reversed?

In a highly divisive political landscape, few issues find universal support; Net Neutrality, however, is one of the rare instances where a majority of voters share a similar opinion. Polls conducted by Ipsos and Politico found approximately 60% of voters support Net Neutrality while only 25% are in favor of deregulation. 

While down from polls conducted this summer, a majority of voters, Democrat and Republican, still support Net Neutrality rules (Source: Morning Consult)

Of the top five largest tech companies and brands globally, all five have come out adamantly against the F.C.C. proposal. Not only are consumers against the proposed change, but so are some of the leading content creators and media corporations as well. Net Neutrality has turned Internet freedom into a widespread social movement, where both consumers and creators have united against narrowing the pipeline to information.

Additionally, while the F.C.C. claims the rollback of regulations will help spur rapid investment in next-generation networks, many argue that current policies have not significantly reduced networks’ ability to expand. Companies across industries, such as Samsung, Google, and Facebook, have continued to improve communication services and enhance user experience, working to build out their digital infrastructure and networks. 

While it’s true that the Internet prior to 2015 was not a “digital dystopia” as Pai argues, it’s undeniable the F.C.C. regulations were implemented to encourage competition, the development of new products, and widespread innovation. Although the same light-touch regulations allowed the Internet to expand exponentially in the past two decades, the new digital landscape has continued to flourish under the current F.C.C. regulations. Since 2015, there has been widespread implementation of 4G LTE networks resulting in “significant growth of mobile data traffic over the net” as more and more people shift from desktop to mobile. 

Data traffic has expanded rapidly since 2015 and is projected to increase 10-fold by 2022 (Source: Ericsson)

Content creators and media channels have also benefited from the Net Neutrality rules, being free to innovate and create new services and products without the fear of losing access to audiences. In addition to large companies such as Netflix expanding its base, smaller, start-up firms now have a chance to grow and eventually compete as well.

What's Going to Happen?

Unless there is a significant shift in sentiment or new arguments emerge, the F.C.C. will reverse the Net Neutrality regulations by a 3-2 vote next week, supported by Pai and Commissioners Michael O’Rielly and Brendan Carr. 

Realistically, most people will not notice an immediate change in their services if Net Neutrality regulations are reversed, however, the action undoubtedly grants Internet providers significantly more power in terms of controlling the content and information users access in the future. If the policies hold, the Internet could see more experimentation among broadband companies as well as alliances between content creators and service providers, which could potentially disadvantage consumers in the long run.

While often cited and although unlikely, if Net Neutrality rules remain overturned, we could see future experimentation with pricing strategies that resemble those currently found in Portugal.

So while services will likely remain the same in the immediate future, reversing Net Neutrality could slow down innovation with the potential of rivaling existing broadband companies as well as give them the power to direct the content consumers see. 

And in an era desperately in need of maintaining free and rapid access to information and news?

There’s nothing more frightening than that. 

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Erwen (Alex) Zhu is a Junior at the University of California Berkeley and writes as a millennial voice for marketing, social media, entertainment, politics, and cultural impact.

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