Why Eliminating Net Neutrality Is Bad For Women!

FCC action could decimate influencer marketing where women have thrived.

- Tiffany Romero

The FCC’s recent vote to eliminate net neutrality stands to impact some of the country’s most enterprising innovators. It’s a shortsighted action likely to result in unintended consequences for many individuals and businesses.

One industry certain to feel the effects is online marketing. Consider specifically influencer marketing, a field comprised mainly of small businesses which pioneered a concept that helped fuel the surge in social media advertising.

The rise of influencer marketing is a true success story for the marketing industry and its growing community of social influencers. Last year, advertisers spent $570 million on influencer campaigns on Instagram alone, according to eMarketer. And a Gartner survey found that while marketing budgets seem to have peaked in 2017, “67 percent of CMOs plan to increase investment in digital advertising, including … 64 percent for social media.”

Open access to the internet has given people—especially women— more opportunities to get educated, build communities and start successful businesses in ways no one could have imagined 20 years ago. It created a marketplace that everyone can tap into and benefit from, regardless of their socio-economic status or location.