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  • The internet may be about to change for millions of Americans.

  • The Trump administration are planning to roll back another Obama-era policy,

  • the protection of net neutrality.

  • The FCC, the Federal Communications Commission, will make a decision that could affect everything

  • from internet speeds, to overall access, to the amount it costs to go online.

  • Net neutrality is the idea that Internet Service Providers, or ISPs, should treat all internet traffic the same,

  • giving every consumer equal access to all content online.

  • That means large corporations, like Verizon or Comcast, cannot limit or manipulate

  • your online activity in order to favor their own business interests.

  • Net neutrality also aims to protect smaller companies from being strangled by larger companies.

  • Its advocates argue it ensures the internet remains a place for innovation,

  • which is why it's helped produce startup, after startup, after startup.

  • Since 2002, the FCC has classified broadband internet as an information service,

  • meaning cable providers couldn't be forced to share their infrastructure with competitors.

  • It wasn't until 2010 that the FCC adopted its Open Internet Order,

  • the first time net neutrality rules became official regulation.

  • However, three years later, Verizon successfully sued the FCC

  • arguing that if broadband providers were classified as just an information service,

  • it meant the FCC didn't have enough authority to enforce these rules.

  • Free and open access to the internet.

  • But in 2015, instead of backing down, the FCC, under Obama-appointed chairman Tom Wheeler,

  • reclassified ISPs as common carriers, essentially turning them into a public utility.

  • That gave the FCC much stronger oversight and the authority it needed to enforce net neutrality.

  • So why did the FCC take such strong action?

  • Well, as President Obama explained a year earlier,

  • 'No service should be stuck in a slow lane because it doesn't pay a fee.'

  • Let's borrow President Obama's analogy for a moment.

  • Imagine the World Wide Web as a highway.

  • Under current FCC rules the majority of internet traffic moves at the same speed.

  • Whether you're streaming a TV series from Netflix or a smaller streaming service such as Mubi,

  • your ISP has to provide the same internet speed for both websites.

  • But without net neutrality, according to its supporters, Internet Service Providers like

  • AT&T could divide the internet they provide into multiple lanes, all going at different speeds.

  • To be in the fastest lane, websites would have to pay an additional fee.

  • This would force established sites such as Amazon, Facebook and Spotify

  • to pay up to stay ahead of the competition,

  • while smaller sites and startups could be priced out of the fastest lanes.

  • Now though, the Trump administration and the GOP have come out against net neutrality.

  • But why?

  • Some of net neutrality proponents say it's another attempt to reverse an Obama policy

  • or possibly to win the support of donors for the 2020 election campaign.

  • The top four internet service providers in the U.S., Verizon, AT&T, Charter and Comcast,

  • have spent tens of millions lobbying Congress.

  • But critics of net neutrality believe it can be counterproductive.

  • High profile Republicans such as Ted Cruz and Rand Paul argue that excessive regulation

  • of the internet discourages innovation and competition amongst ISPs.

  • Nineteen small cable providers signed a letter to the FCC asking to end net neutrality,

  • saying that it was killing their businesses.

  • Another argument is that net neutrality rules make networks less profitable,

  • holding back investment in internet infrastructure.

  • For example, Verizon and Google have built new fiber optic networks

  • that are 50 times faster than ordinary networks.

  • But they can cost billions of dollars to build, so large parts of the country haven't received them yet.

  • Internet users may benefit from certain applications such as voice calling and online games,

  • which are particularly sensitive to delays in delivering data,

  • being given priority by companies who pay a premium.

  • The man leading the fight against net neutrality is the new Trump-appointed chairman of the FCC, Ajit Pai.

  • We want to give more consumers better, faster, cheaper internet

  • and getting rid of these heavy-handed economic regulations,

  • inspired in the Great Depression, is the way to do it.

  • Pai, who is a former lawyer for Verizon, has predicted that net neutrality's days are numbered.

  • He believes that Internet Service Providers should not have to be classified as a public utility

  • but instead could voluntarily agree to not obstruct or slow consumer access to web content.

  • At the same time, Republicans in Congress are currently working on legislation

  • to try and reverse some of the rules.

  • A recent poll found 52% of registered voters support net neutrality regulations,

  • but that's actually an eight point decline in support from a few months earlier.

  • But what's happening in the U.S. is not without precedent.

  • For net neutrality advocates Portugal provides an example of how without net neutrality

  • ISPs can steer users to favored websites and services, including their own.

  • Even countries with supposed net neutrality have created arrangements,

  • which allow national regulators more flexibility.

  • These regulators can open loopholes permitting 'zero-rating'

  • through which ISPs can exclude certain services and sites from data caps.

  • In the U.K., the ISP Vodafone, offers several passes for an additional cost,

  • which allow unlimited video and music streaming, as well as social media use.

  • But only some social media apps are included.

  • For instance, in this social media pass you've only got Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.

  • But what about Snapchat, Tumblr, Reddit, Flickr and many more?

  • Back in the U.S., certain sites, including Netflix, have come out in support of net neutrality.

  • Some analysts believe that big content companies do not want to be forced into a bidding war,

  • but will run the risk of having their speeds reduced and access blocked

  • if they refuse to pay these additional costs to ISPs.

  • And if costs do increase then consumers may be the ones to foot the bill,

  • with wealthier users able to access the fastest speeds.

  • The Open Internet may no longer be a level playing field

  • for the many content creators and internet users around the world.

The internet may be about to change for millions of Americans.

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