President Trump’s pick for FCC chair has internet activists in full-on Ned-Stark-Winter-is-Coming-Mode over his stance on Net Neutrality. Despite the previous administrations efforts to preserve Net Neutrality, Ajit Pai has publicly sided with big business by proclaiming his intent to take a “weed whacker” to current regulations in the name of “investment, innovation, and job creation”. In case you were wondering on which side of this issue you fall, do you identify more closely with Comcast, ATT and Verizon, or Google, Netflix and Facebook? Still not clear? It’s not cut and dry, but put in the most simple terms, Net Neutrality benefits consumers the most, while most carriers believe it weakens their ability to maximize shareholder value.
If that sounded just a wee bit biased, then you are picking up what I’m laying down:
There are dozens (if not hundreds) of explanations about what Net Neutrality is, and why each side is right or wrong, and in light of the administration’s decidedly big-business agenda, it should come as no surprise that regulations standing in the way of mega-corporations are facing a “whacking”. Don’t get me wrong – as a business owner, I’m all for capitalism, but I’m also a strong believer in protecting consumers from the depredations of monopolies, which is what internet carriers in the US have become. Now that fast internet access is a must-have for everyone, it is critical that equal access for everyone is guaranteed, regardless of content, culture or net-worth. Speaking as someone who only has one choice for affordable, fast internet, I fail to see any fair market practices in this space, and recent anti-consumer moves by Comcast and Cox are doing little to persuade me that they have my best interests at heart.
Image courtesy of dream designs on FreeDigitalPhotos.net
