The FCC is voting Thursday on
whether to repeal “Net Neutrality”
By
Robert Reich
Watch this video on YouTube:
Since its creation, the internet has been an open exchange of ideas and information, free from corporate control and influence. But corporations could soon have tremendous power over what we can access and share online, ending the internet as we know it.
In
2015, the FCC passed a landmark rule that prevents internet service providers
from favoring some sites over others – slowing down connections or charging
customers a fee for streaming or other services.
It gave Americans equal access
to all the content that’s available on the internet – videos, social media,
e-commerce sites, etc – at the same speeds.
Now,
though, Donald Trump’s handpicked chairman of the Federal Communications
Commission, Ajit Pai, wants to abolish “Net Neutrality.” He wants to give telecommunications
giants like Comcast, Verizon and AT&T the upper hand.
Pai – himself a former Verizon executive – defends the rollback by “Under my proposal, the federal government will stop micromanaging the internet.”
Baloney. His plan would be a huge gift to cable companies. It would:
1. Drive
up prices for internet service. Broadband providers could charge
customers higher rates to access certain sites, or raise rates for internet
companies to reach consumers faster speeds. Either way, these prices hikes
would be passed along to you and me.
2. Give
corporate executives free reign to slow down and censor news or
websites that don’t match their political agenda, or give preference to their
own content – for any reason at all.
3. Stifle
innovation. Cable companies could severely hurt their competitors by
blocking certain apps or online services. Small businesses who can’t afford to
pay higher rates could be squeezed out altogether.
Broadband
providers claim that Net Neutrality rules actually hurts consumers because
it discourages investment in their networks.
Rubbish.
Since Net Neutrality was adopted, investment has remained consistent. During
calls with investors, telecom executives themselves have even admitted that Net
Neutrality hasn’t hurt their businesses.
In
the modern age, unfettered access to the internet is essential to a vibrant
democracy and strong economy.
There’s
still time. Please help stop this corporate power grab over what we can say and
do online.
ROBERT
B. REICH is Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of
California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Blum Center for Developing
Economies. He served as Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration, for
which Time Magazine named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries
of the twentieth century. He has written fourteen books, including the best
sellers "Aftershock", "The Work of Nations," and "Beyond
Outrage," and, his most recent, "Saving Capitalism." He is also
a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine, chairman of Common Cause,
a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and co-creator of the
award-winning documentary, INEQUALITY FOR ALL.
