Net Neutrality and How It Affects You

The popularity and success of the Internet is due to the fact that no matter how small, or big, a company is, people have equal access to Internet sites. This freedom increases competition, quality, and diversity of content. Personally, I enjoy accessing content that I want, when I want without interference from major companies. Would you like the phone and cable companies influencing what you can see and read on the Internet? Net neutrality addresses this issue.

We are experiencing a major shift in publishing modality with the growth of the Internet. The Gutenberg press allowed mass printing of books and facilitated the education of the masses. Radio allowed the working class to experience opera, music, and entertainment once accessible only to the wealthy. Television brought motion pictures into peoples’ homes. With the Internet, text, audio, and movies are being broadcasted around the world. The Internet is the new broadcasting modality in the 21st Century with incredible potential to enhance the way we learn, play, and do business.

Unfortunately, the Internet as we know it is facing a serious threat. There is discussion by law makers in Washington, D.C. on the concept of “net neutrality". The House of Representatives is voting on a bill that would fundamentally alter the Internet. That bill, and one that may come up for a key vote in the Senate, would give the big phone and cable companies the power to pick and choose what you will be able to see and do on the Internet.

According to Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, “Today the Internet is an information highway where anybody – no matter how large or small, how traditional or unconventional – has equal access. But the phone and cable monopolies, who control almost all Internet access, want the power to choose who gets access to high-speed lanes and whose content gets seen first and fastest. They want to build a two-tiered system and block the on-ramps for those who can't pay.”

The decision to abolish net neutrality will be counter-productive to the advancement of education, our economy, and business development. Internet access in other countries, for instance, already surpasses the access available in the United States in regards to speed and service. Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, states: “The neutral communications medium is essential to our society. It is the basis of a fair competitive market economy. It is the basis of democracy, by which a community should decide what to do. It is the basis of science, by which humankind should decide what is true. Let us protect the neutrality of the net."

The outcome of net neutrality will have great impact on the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), a non-profit organization dedicated to ophthalmic education. In a world where publishers must pay to have their materials viewed by consumers, the AAO, small businesses, and non-profit organizations will be at a great disadvantage. You may call your representative at 202-224-3121 and let your voice be heard.

For more information, go to: http://www.google.com/help/netneutrality.html