Today we’re standing in support of Net Neutrality here at Graphic Policy. You might notice the site acting weird, taking a bit to load for example, in an effort to show you what a world with Net Neutrality might be like.

There are many different definitions of what exactly Net Neutrality is, but it’s basically the ability to the go where you want and do what you want on the internet without extra charges, artificially slow accessibility or blockages.

Net Neutrality protects us the consumer. It stops internet providers from slowing down, degrading, or even blocking content or access to online content. It also prevents deals where those with deep pockets can pay to be heard over start-ups or other competitors. When over 70% of Americans have only one option for internet providers in their area, this is a big deal.

But here’s possible scenarios in a world without Net Neutrality, and outlines why this is important:

• Your internet provider provides you the option to buy voice over internet from them, so they decide to degrade or block the competition, making them the only real option,
• Your internet provider owns some of the content it delivers (for example Comcast and NBC) and block other services to watch the same or similar content so you have to use their video on demand service,
• An exclusive deal is struck where a service, say a video game platform or digital comics platform, pay and become the only distributor or platform of that content through your internet provider,
• Business pay, or people have to pay, to have their content delivered quicker, in an age where ever millisecond counts (think stock trading or online ticket buying). The haves can outpace the have-nots when it comes to online activities.

I can go on and on with these types of scenarios, and Comcast and Verizon have been fighting to end Net Neutrality and the internet as we know it. The idea of Net Neutrality is to keep the internet a free and open platform for innovation and expression.

Please take action now and contact the FCC and Congress to make your voice hear so sites like ours have an equal chance to be heard as those who can spend money to do so.

The Battle for the Net begins now!