Democratic Party Ninth District
Michelle Maloney

Net Neutrality? What is that and why should I care? What does it mean to me? Here is what it means to all of us.

Net Neutrality has been a part of the foundation of the internet since it began. When we sit down at our computers, we have access to any website we choose. We can also access any service or piece of information that is important to us. Net Neutrality insures that we will always be able to do that. It preserves a free and open internet with no discrimination. It prevents providers from regulating the speed with which information travels, where it comes from and where it is going. It guarantees that a network provider's sole responsibility is to move information. Unfortunately, that service is in jeopardy.

AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, and Time Warner are a few of the large telephone and cable companies that want control over how fast websites deliver information and also want to regulate which sites are actually accessible at all. They want to maintain fast delivery of their own services but they want to be able to charge other content providers for fast delivery of their data. In this way, they want to be able to slow down or block competitors. Those providers who can pay steep charges would get faster delivery and small, less affluent companies would be relegated to slow delivery or none at all.

These large phone and cable companies are spending millions of dollars lobbying congress and the Federal Communications Commission to have them put aside net neutrality regulations. This would endanger the future of the internet as we know it.

Without Net Neutrality, providers can determine what content and services they chose to give preferential treatment to and can also decide to deny access to content and services not to their liking. This type of censorship is contrary to the basic foundations upon which our country is based.

Small businesses benefit from an internet that permits them to compete directly with big corporations without having to pay for high speed access for its costumers. This also ensures that their consumers don't have to pay higher prices for goods and services to cover user fees. But businesses are not all that could be affected. Everyday use, emailing friends, sending photos, online banking, planning trips, or doing research, could all be relegated to slow delivery if large fees are required to ensure high speed accessibility. Independent news organizations and political groups could be severely disadvantaged if network providers have the oversight to levy large fees or refuse service all together.

If we lose Net Neutrality, competition will be stifled and access to information controlled. Consumer choice and the free market would be nonexistent. Network owners will decide what is available and consumers will have to choose from their offerings. Two bills in the US Congress have been introduced to protect consumers from such a scenario. Please contact your senators to support S215 and your representatives to support HR 5353. Let's insure that the public, not the big corporations, control the fate of the internet.

Michelle Maloney is a retired reading specialist. She is currently actively involved in the Union County Democratic Party and the Ninth Congressional District Committee. She is the proud grandmother of four and in her spare time, she enjoys hiking and clogging.