Net Neutrality is the principle that Internet Service Providers (ISP) should not decide what content web users get when they connect to the internet – if I pay for internet bandwidth then decide to visit YouTube or a personal blog or openDemocracy, then I get to see whichever of those sites I request, so long as I haven’t run out of my agreed bandwidth allowance.
Its proponents say that it is what allows web users to see all web sites at the same speed – no site gets to pay an ISP to load preferentially on the web, which would be a major advantage. It’s what makes any site, big or small, rich or poor, accessible to all – it’s what lets good sites and good ideas rise up no matter who runs them, they say.
The US regulator in charge of enforcing Net Neutrality regulations is pushing to dismantle legal protections for it with a vote this Thursday 14th of December. Civil society organisations are fiercely opposing it.
