On Thursday, December 14th, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will put forth a vote to eliminate net neutrality. Specifically, current FCC chairman Ajit Pai, a former lawyer for Verizon, aims to rollback the “Title II” regulations that give us the internet we know and love.
As you have no doubt learned — via personal research, celebrity endorsements or your aunt’s confused Facebook posts — net neutrality is a big deal and the fate of the technology industry, and New York City tech specifically, rests in the hands of this dangerous vote.
On Cyber Monday, 200 tech companies (36 of which are based in New York) sent a letter to Pai, encouraging him to rethink his plans and consider the drastic impact a loss of net neutrality could have across industries. Companies big and small signed the letter, evidencing how the concern is spread wide across political and economic lines.
With this proposal, the chairman unabashedly ignores the concerns of tens of thousands [...] in favor of a few large cable companies.
Etsy has been particularly vocal in recent weeks, releasing multiple statements of their own in addition to the aforementioned letter. Althea Erickson, Etsy’s head of advocacy and impact, explained to Built In how the loss of net neutrality would impact her company specifically, which is comprised of a network of thousands of merchants from around the world:
“With this proposal, the chairman unabashedly ignores the concerns of tens of thousands of Etsy sellers in favor of a few large cable companies.”
She is referencing the massive gains that internet service providers (ISPs) are likely to see if net neutrality were no longer the standard. Presently, the aforementioned Title II regulations dictate that ISPs do not have the right to control how customers use their services. Though you may pay an ISP a monthly fee for use of their bandwidth, they cannot keep you from viewing a particular website, uploading content or downloading whatever you wish to save.
If neutrality were no longer a guiding principle of internet service (as is the goal of Thursday’s vote), service providers could very easily segment portions of the internet into theoretical “fast” and “slow” lanes. ISPs would have the power to charge you a separate fee simply for visiting websites such as Facebook or Google. If you are trying to access a website that doesn’t have an Alexa ranking? You might just be out of luck.
“We are deeply disappointed with Chairman Pai’s proposal, which would roll back the net neutrality protections that millions of micro-businesses rely on to start and grow their businesses online,” says Erickson.
Jeff Glueck, CEO of Foursquare, tells Built In that companies like his could have never grown on an internet void of net neutrality:
"In the early days of Foursquare, we never would have been able to compete with larger companies if we had been at a disadvantage on page-load times. Our dedicated global community has allowed us to grow and reach 170 countries: imagine if we had to forge agreements with 500 ISP’s in 170 countries just to avoid any disadvantage."
Allowing internet service providers to charge companies for access to an internet fast lane would [...] ultimately be a net negative for consumers.
Etsy is far from being the only company anxiously anticipating Thursday’s vote. Boxed CTO Will Fong explains to Built In the disappearance of net neutrality will make online innovation a thing of the past:
“Starting and growing a company is already a difficult and expensive proposition. We should be promoting entrepreneurship and innovation, not adding what is essentially a ransom payment to the list of costs that startups might face,” he says. “Allowing internet service providers to charge companies for access to an internet fast lane would make it more difficult for innovative new businesses to emerge and ultimately be a net negative for consumers."
This is not a purely speculative concern. Prior to current net neutrality regulations, ISPs notoriously took advantage of their power and forbade customers from accessing websites they felt were critical of their company.
Though it is unclear why, here and now, the FCC desires to roll back regulations that have been protecting consumers for years — theories are not difficult to form.
What is clear is that a loss of net neutrality would have serious consequences for anyone who uses the internet, be it to access social media accounts, video game channels streaming services or to identify and apply for a new job. Furthermore, it would impact any company, business, startup or otherwise professional organization that relies on the internet for both day-to-day operations and long-term growth.
"The internet has succeeded up to this point because it's open to disruption without permission," says Glueck. "From Uber to Netflix to YouTube to Facebook. They all started small."
A future without net neutrality is clear, and it’s up to you to make a decision about what you want your future to look like.
To learn more about how you can aid the fight for net neutrality, visit Battle for the Net.
