The Importance of Net Neutrality

Over the past 20 years, the internet has become a central part of our lives, changing our world in ways that we never could have predicted. The power of the internet stems from its uniquely open and free character, which levels the playing field so that a person with something new to say or a startup with a big idea can compete against a corporate powerhouse. And though it’s little understood, what has helped to ensure that the internet remains a level playing field are net neutrality rules.

Net neutrality is the principle that the internet should be free and open, without favoring or blocking certain websites or products or allowing providers to create fast and slow lanes for users. Unfortunately, this principle is now at risk. Although the overwhelming majority of Americans supports net neutrality, the Federal Communications Commission – under a new chairman appointed by President Trump – plans to move forward with a proposal to roll back those protections.

It’s difficult to envision the internet without net neutrality, but it could lead to drastic, and detrimental, changes in how we experience visiting our favorite websites. Right now, the FCC’s Open Internet rules prohibit internet service providers from discriminatory practices in internet service delivery. The FCC’s rule was passed in 2015, replacing a previous rule that was struck down by the courts.

To understand what this means, imagine waking up one day in a world where your cable company could choose which websites, apps or streaming services load quickly, while designating others to lag or fail to load altogether. The length of time that it takes for a company’s web page or app to load can have serious implications for business.

When a website takes more than a few seconds to load, do you stay on the page or do you go elsewhere? Studies have shown that nearly half of Americans abandon a page if it takes longer than five seconds to load. Patience with mobile devices is even shorter; more than half of Americans will abandon an app or web page after only three seconds.

If your local pizza place’s web page will not load, would you opt to take your business elsewhere – to the large pizza chain that can afford to pay ISPs to use a “fast-lane” so that its website will load quickly? What about your local online newspaper, compared to the faster-loading international news corporation website?

A rollback of net neutrality rules opens the door for large internet service cable companies to block or slow traffic for sites and services for all sorts of reasons. It could change the internet forever – and for the worse.

The internet, in its current free and open state, provides small businesses and startup companies with a chance to reach consumers and establish themselves. Without net neutrality, small businesses and startups may have to outbid large corporations for access to faster internet speeds. This competition with large companies and conglomerates may create an obstacle too large for many small businesses to overcome.

The free and open internet provides a space for innovation and creativity that can only exist because of net neutrality. By rolling back net neutrality rules, the FCC will greatly damage the internet’s status as an equalizing force in our society and economy. I’ll be fighting to make sure that we keep net neutrality protections at the FCC, and go further by passing legislation updating our outdated laws – enacted before the internet was widely adopted – to make sure open internet protections can never be rolled back.

If a free and open internet is important to you, I urge you to speak up as well.

Rep. Adam Schiff represents California’s 28th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

  ADAM SCHIFF