What is Net Neutrality? How does it affect small businesses and everyday Internet users?
When you order your Internet service, your Internet provider traditionally has not been allowed to choose which websites open quickly on your computer. They haven’t been able to decide that Yahoo will open more quickly than Google, that corporate news sites will open more quickly than independent blogs, that big business websites will open more quickly than the sites of small businesses and entreprenerus, or that an online video or audio site they own will open more quickly than competitors like YouTube or iTunes. That’s because of Net Neutrality–the principle that’s been in place since the Internet was created that says Internet service providers can’t abuse their role as gatekeepers to the Internet by discriminating between websites. But Net Neutrality is now in jeopardy–recently slated for elimination by the Federal Communications Commission, it will be a thing of the past unless Congress acts or the FCC reverses course. Dominant telephone and cable companies (like AT&T, Verizon,
