There are many negatives about the way the internet has inserted itself into our lives. It is creepy to think about huge corporations tracking each page we visit, and potentially, through our smartphones, actually physically tracking us wherever we go.
Social media interactions are a far cry from person-to-person communication. The information we get online is sometimes flimsy and biased.
But the truth is that most of us can’t avoid the internet. Just as our urban lifestyle replaced our previously agrarian society, the written word replaced oral tradition, and the gasoline engine replaced the horse, so too the internet has become one of the pillars of modern life. And, for all its faults, it does offer interconnectivity, easy access to a wide span of information, and a practical way to do all kinds of business from wherever you are.
But that silver lining is in real jeopardy.
The Federal Communications Commission, headed by Ajit Pai, who was named chairman by Donald Trump in January, has introduced a measure to end the so-called net neutrality rules established under the Obama administration.
What does this mean? Higher internet prices and less competition among broadband providers, according to Business Insider. Telecom giants like Comcast and Verizon will be able to charge fees and tolls to access information we now get as part of a normal internet hookup.
Net neutrality is the principle that all data sent over a network should be the same, regardless of where it originated or its content. The 2015 net neutrality rules specifically prohibit internet service providers from blocking, slowing, or providing preferential treatment to certain sites.
That was great for internet users, and a limit on those service providers. In this age of giant telecommunications mergers (Comcast owns NBC Universal, the U.S. Department of Justice has sued to block AT&T from acquiring Time Warner, Verizon owns AOL and Yahoo), those companies have a vested interest in controlling what we all do online, and they want as much control as possible.
Those companies could — without net neutrality — not only charge us, the customers, more, but could also levy fees against small internet firms if they want their content to be available at the same speed as the big players. That gives the big companies yet another advantage, and further erodes the idea of an egalitarian internet.
This is a time we need more regulation over internet service providers — not less. According to a U.S. Department of Commerce report, only about 37 percent of households have a choice of more than one internet service provider for high speed (at least 25 megabits per second) internet. The rest of us have only one choice, or none. These de facto monopolies have already led to high prices and poor customer service in our region.
While the FCC’s vote scheduled for Thursday seems to be a foregone conclusion, there are ways to resist this disastrous move to destroy even the imperfect access to internet that we have. The move could be challenged in the courts and Congress could take it up and potentially do something about it following a sea-change election in 2018, a distinct possibility following Democrat Doug Jones’victory in Tuesday’s special Senate election in ruby red Alabama.
In the meantime, bravo to Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, and Leverett Select Board Chairman Peter d’Errico, who along with more than 50 other mayors across the country, signed a joint letter opposing the FCC’s push to end net neutrality.
“A free and open Internet forms the backbone of the 21st Century economy, and as leaders of local communities we are acutely aware of the threat to education, innovation, and economic growth posed by the proposal,” the Dec. 7 letter reads. “We are also deeply disturbed by the Commission’s efforts to preempt our ability to protect consumers and businesses in our communities. We strongly oppose this proposal, and urge the Commission to reconsider.”
The signatories include mayors of Los Angeles, Boston, New York City and Chicago.
More restrictive access to the internet is one of many freedoms in danger under the Trump administration. Add it to the list of the things you pester your congressperson about.