Net neutrality, by definition, means the principle that Internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favouring or blocking particular products or websites. So it means that ISPs (Internet Service Providers) to treat all web traffic the same.
If you are like me and are from the U.K., you’re probably also wondering what exactly is going to happen to us, in light of The Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) decision to repeal net neutrality.
Why do we need net neutrality?
Net neutrality basically means that you can access and website to want without fearing extra charges or that ISPs cannot block services or slow down connection on their competitors sites.
“An ISP could slow down its competitors’ content or block political opinions it disagreed with. ISPs could charge extra fees to the few content companies that could afford to pay for preferential treatment – relegating everyone else to a slower tier of service. This would destroy the open internet,” Save the Internet warns.
What is going to happen in the U.K.?
The issue of net neutrality is significantly less controversial in the U.K. as apposed to across the pond in America because the the ISP is more competitive.
A politician pointed out that “Unlike in the U.K., in some parts of the U.S. consumers have no choice which ISP they use because only one offers a service in their area.” so U.S. citizens will have no choice but to pay for the package their ISP provides.
But in short we will not be affected by charge increases but BBC News says they will “further underline the philosophical differences between the American and European approach to digital rights.”
The U.K. is currently still under the E.U.’s net neutrality rules and Ed Johnson-Williams, a campaigner at the U.K.-based Open Rights Group, told Sky News that the EU’s net neutrality rules are “some of the strongest net neutrality protections in the world.”
Will Brexit change this?
There is a chance that, yes, leaving the E.U. could change the U.K.’s stance on net neutrality.
This is because the U.K. could leave Berec, which is the European regulator on neutrality, but the government has hinted that it intends to transfer the E.U. rules to U.K. law.
Channel 4 has reported “Professor Chris Marsden has warned that – if the U.K. is no longer in the European Economic Area (EEA) post-Brexit, and leaves Berec – that could lead to complications, particularly surrounding data protection rules.”
To do your part and help to save net neutrality, no matter where you are from, you can sign Save The Internet’s petition to battle the repeal here.
