@Background Pony #5FAA
No ISP was going to prove the naysayers right by immediately doing the things people were warning about. That said, there have absolutely already been signs of trouble that Net Neutrality could have prevented.
Repealing it was never a good idea. It does not benefit the people using it, it will not (as some earlier comments state) allow more flexibility for smaller ISPs, and it certainly opens the door for abuses too myriad to list. And pretending, in an age where a substantial portion of activities (like looking and applying for jobs, paying bills, getting the news, and even coordinating emergency services) make use of the internet, that equal access for everyone isn’t equally as important as water or electricity, is utterly ridiculous.
It’s easy to look at as short a period of time as 8 months (in which a reversal of the repeal could have happened) and think that there was nothing to worry about. But it’s far more likely the companies who benefit from this most have merely been waiting for a point when they were in the clear. And I assure you, the situation will only get worse unless something is done.
Honestly
Looking back, The NN repeal was just a reversing back to the pre-2015 rules, And lo and behold, nearly 8 months after the repeal took effect, we’re still here
Network Neutrality is indeed important, but it was never fully repealed because all The FCC did in December was kill the 2015 rules that were “pure” Net Neutrality, but unfortunately since the 2015 rules are dead, Net Neutrality is only in minor fraction for now
I agree that we need pure and true Net Neutrality rules like California, But it’s really not the apocalypse that everyone was talking about
And yes, I’ve heard about Article 13 and that is actually bad
@Lord Seraph
Ajit did cause some harm to the web, but only by opening the floodgates to things like Article 13. And consider the following. What Ajit did had impact ONLY in the United States.
@Amethyst_Crystal
Well. Considering Google and Facebook try to defend net neutrality and they keep everything in a digital stranglehold, I could say some companies benefit from it and others do not and both sides seek to use the rules for dishonest means.
If I may say, the most important point for, or against, it is how much better things are compared to before those laws. At least outside the US, thing have not changed. I wonder if someone could tell me the difference between 2006 and now in terms of internet in America.
@CatsTuxedo
You make an interesting point with your first paragraph, about more flexibility for smaller ISPS, but I’m pretty sure companies like Comcast and Verizon have been doing their best to get the Net Neutrality repealed, not supported.
Also, unlike electricity and water, internet connections are not considered a utility by law, so there’s a lot more wriggle room for ISPs to do whatever they want, including making things difficult or expensive enough that poor customers may as well go without. There is a lot of talk now of changing that, because in this day and age, internet IS a necessity for many peoples’ lives. Just not as urgent a requirement as electricity or water, not yet anyway.
@Amethyst_Crystal
Because it opens the door wider for smaller ISPs to start up and provide cheaper and faster service without having the government regulating them and forcing them to jump through so many hoops that they wouldn’t bother and just let the few big ISPs have all the business, which is why most of the big ones had been suspiciously supportive of so-called “net neutrality”.
Besides, service prioritization is a natural trait of all industries. People who are willing to pay more should naturally have better service than others. Why should ISPs be any different from phone plans or package deliveries? And don’t say “because internet should be a right”, because it isn’t. If you’re not building or maintaining an internet connection, you should pay for it like you do with electricity or water.
@CatsTuxedo
So explain how this repeal doesn’t open the door for ISPs to be abusive robber barons, if they dare?
Or rather, much moreso than they already are?
@Background Pony #F1C4
Trust me, the actual mess was there before. I know most of you went to 4 chan with no effort before you even heard of net neutrality. Probably found out of it over there too.
@Starry Mind
I am stating the panic is useless. The .com bubble took place before those laws, the internet as we know it was born before those laws. People shouldn’t be afraid of returning to something that was not bad.
