With December 14th approaching quickly, it is important to know why exactly the date is important. December 14th is when the United States senate votes on whether or not to repeal Title II or, the Communications Act of 1934. So what is Title II?

Title II is a set of laws that telecommunication operators must follow, companies like AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon are all examples of telecommunication operators. The laws allow free speech on the internet, as well as allow whomever to make their own pages seen.

Without Net Neutrality companies like the ones stated earlier could block websites that they felt needed to be blocked. It could also mean that payment for certain websites, similarly as what television companies do for channels, would have to occur.  

The negative aspects of repealing Title II is that companies could control who you talked to online, what websites you saw, the things that you did online, and how fast your internet worked. This would mean that for example, if Verizon supported only Yahoo browser, you could only access Yahoo and couldn’t access Google. Therefore, many apps could be blocked by the company. Repealing Title II would affect everyone using internet in the United States.

Though, the positive aspects of repealing Title II is that it creates are more competitive market for internet providers. This could mean that it would start by making internet expensive, but the competition for a better online service would drive prices down. Therefore, it would make internet prices lower.

In order to have your voice heard call your state representatives and let them know exactly how you feel. In Oregon the number is, (202) 225-0855. The vote deciding whether or not they will repeal Title II is December 14, 2017. Make your voice heard in the issue, we are not powerless.