As we reported at some length last November, following a very slyly convened vote, Net Neutrality in the US was repealed. With this, all safeguarding against internet traffic speed monitoring and regulation through ISP’s were removed.
Despite a number of high-profile protests against the repeal of Net Neutrality, in a report via CNN, it will officially be dead on April 23rd, 2018.
Net Neutrality regulations in the US basically meant that your respective internet service provider was not allowed to discriminate the speed of your internet based on your traffic. In other words, if you were downloading a file, having a mooch on Facebook or playing a game online, the ISP could not increase or decrease the speed for any particular service.
The regulations also meant that ISP’s could not charge an additional fee for a ‘premium access speed’. Even Burger King got involved to attempt to explain what Net Neutrality meant.
I think it would only be fair to point out that since the repeal, no ISP in the US has made any indication that they are planning to butcher and re-sell the internet in pieces. That being said, that’s just based on what they have said so far. The actual official death of Net Neutrality will happen on the 23rd of April and following that, who knows.
Fortunately, we in Europe are a little better protected from Net Neutrality. For example, in the UK we have Ofcom who have always said that repealing it in the UK would be practically impossible (but not entirely).
Following April 23rd, people in the US will get a better idea if the repeal of Net Neutrality will affect them. At this point, I wouldn’t like to guarantee that either way. Let’s just say I’m glad we still have it here in the UK.
What do you think? Will US ISP’s look to take advantage of the repeal? How strong do you think the protections are in the UK and Europe? Do you worry about it? – Let us know in the comments!
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