Last month, on December 14, the Federal Communications Commission(FCC) voted to repeal Title II. An article titled, “What You Need to Know about Net Neutrality,” by Kierah Kavicky goes in depth about what exactly Title II is. Now that the vote has been carried out, it is important to understand exactly the consequences.

Joey Jones, a freshman at YC, had an educated opinion on net neutrality. He was very concerned about the threat of silencing issues that need to be spoken out against.

“We can expect to see things like companies prioritizing or blocking sites that differ from their views or contradict them getting money,” Jones stated when asked what he expects to see. He is concerned that companies will block websites for his specific political opinions.

Hanna VanDeWalle, a sophomore at YC, expects that she and her family  will have to pay more if they expect to use some of the apps they want to use.

“All the apps that I use will be slower and again, I’ll have to pay more money,” VanDeWalle expressed.

While the FCC did vote to repeal Title II, the Supreme Court has yet to decide if it will hear the case. Meaning, it’s uncertain whether or not the Supreme Court will vote over the case. The FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, released a video of himself the evening before the vote. The video showed him wearing a santa hat and holding a lightsaber and a fidget spinner. Many thought the video was him mocking his competition, as the video described the things that the American people could still do on the internet.

The removal of Obama-Era rules now allows companies to choose the websites they want to block, as long as they disclose to their consumers which sites will be blocked. As stated in past articles, the removal is supposed to allow a more free market within internet companies. A problem the United States people face is whether or not they will be taken advantage of with this new rule.

Sources

Fung, Brian. “The FCC just voted to repeal its net neutrality rules, in a sweeping act of deregulation.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 14 Dec. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/12/14/the-fcc-is-expected-to-repeal-its-net-neutrality-rules-today-in-a-sweeping-act-of-deregulation/?utm_term=.95641b500ba4.