Net neutrality: Why should I care?

Net Neutrality - a cherished principle of internet access where all content providers have equal and free access to consumers - has been in the news lately  It's not just the Techie Types concerned, but businesses, educators and public librarians.  It all started with the recent US Appeals Court decision striking down the FCC rules intended to enforce net neutrality.

This popped back on my radar Sunday night with the announcement that Comcast and Netflix had reached a deal for Netflix to pay Comcast for faster, more reliable access to its customers. (Read the NYT article).

Why should I care?

Because depending on how this political tussle plays out, you may not have as reliable and unfettered access to unbiased, non-commercial information and web sites.  Streaming video from a free site, say Kahn Academy, might have a lower priority than a paid subscription site who is paying the Internet Service Provider (such as Verizon who we use) to prioritize their traffic.  As pointed out in a recent article in T.H.E. Journal, numerous education technology experts are concerned.  School librarians have also voiced a strong opinion, concerned that access and reliability to free informational resources may be compromised.

The FCC is proposing new rules in the hopes of preserving the essence of Net Neutrality.