What is Network Neutrality?
Network Neutrality — or “Net Neutrality” for short — is the guiding principle that preserves the free and open Internet. Put simply, Net Neutrality means no discrimination. Net Neutrality prevents Internet providers from blocking, speeding up or slowing down Web content based on its source, ownership or destination. Net Neutrality is the reason why the Internet has driven economic innovation, democratic participation, and free speech online. It protects the consumer’s right to use any equipment, content, application or service on a non-discriminatory basis without interference from the network provider. With Net Neutrality, the network’s only job is to move data — not choose which data to privilege with higher quality service. Learn more in Net Neutrality 101.
Network Neutrality — or “Net Neutrality” for short — is the guiding principle that preserves the free and open Internet. Put simply, Net Neutrality means no discrimination. Net Neutrality prevents Internet providers from speeding up or slowing down Web content based on its source, ownership or destination. Net Neutrality is the reason why the Internet has driven economic innovation, democratic participation, and free speech online. It protects the consumer’s right to use any equipment, content, application or service on a non-discriminatory basis without interference from the network provider. With Net Neutrality, the network’s only job is to move data — not choose which data to privilege with higher quality service. Learn more in Net Neutrality 101. Who wants to get rid of Net Neutrality? The nation’s largest telephone and cable companies — including AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner — want to be Internet gatekeepers, deciding which Web sites go fast or slow and which won’t loa
Network Neutrality is the name given to the movement for an Internet where the government ensures that Internet Service Providers treat all users and content-providers without bias. It would allow the government to mostly regulate the pricing options that ISP’s give to their customers. The event that sparked the Network Neutrality movement was the announcement that certain ISP’s would begin to charge for increased bandwidth to certain sites. Sites such as Google would now need to pay various ISP’s to use their bandwidth when users access the website.
Network Neutrality is the basic idea that anyone carrying network traffic must treat all the data the same. They should not filter, prioritize, or alter the content in ways that are not desired by the customer. Network neutrality is fairly simple, but it has become a highly politicized issue since the telecoms have an opportunity to charge customers more for less. Fake grassroots efforts have been confusing the issue, making it difficult to see what network neutrality is, and what it is not.
