5 Questions About Net Neutrality
Kiplinger's Personal Finance|February 2018

New rules could change the way you use the internet, and you may pay more.

John Miley
5 Questions About Net Neutrality

Net neutrality is the idea that all legal internet content should be treated equally by internet service providers. Comcast, Verizon and other web services, the thinking goes, are conduits to the World Wide Web and should abide by certain rules. They shouldn’t speed up, slow down or block certain sites, for instance. Net neutrality has become a rallying cry for web advocates looking to defend what they call the “free and open” internet. The theory is simple to lay out, but in practice it’s a more complex debate.

What’s happening now, and why is the debate so heated?

The Federal Communications Commission is reversing a 2015 order that imposed stringent rules on broadband. The FCC, which has new members appointed by President Trump, argues that paid prioritization (socalled fast lanes) and other practices could benefit consumers and shouldn’t be banned outright.

This story is from the February 2018 edition of Kiplinger's Personal Finance.

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