By: Andrew Burrows
Though
you may have heard the phrase “net neutrality” tossed about throughout the past
few years or while browsing the Internet, last week’s FCC approval of its
network neutrality plan has brought this phrase back to the realm of practical
relevance for all Americans. Net neutrality
is the concept that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) should enable access to
all content regardless of the source and without favoring or blocking
particular products or websites. The first thought that may come to mind as a
small business owner is, why should I
care about a small drop in the sea of regulatory rules created by a federal
agency? What quickly follows is the
realization - I use the Internet and my
business relies on it. The question then becomes, how does the FCC’s
network neutrality plan affect me and my business?
What
Net Neutrality Does
As
a way of reassurance, individual consumers and small business owners will not
likely notice a change from their current Internet service. The idea behind the
FCC’s network neutrality plan was more to prevent what could have been, rather
than to change the existing Internet framework. Currently, just about every
person receives the same access to all lawful content on the open Internet
through various ISPs. Almost always, providers stuck to this framework. In some
cases, however, providers
have prioritized their bandwidth to large companies such as YouTube,
Netflix, or Hulu. This meant slower
internet speeds for consumers browsing other content and for smaller
businesses that did not pay the ISPs to prioritize their data.
The
network neutrality plan implemented by the FCC prohibits this practice and purports
to regulate the
Internet as a public utility. This means that consumers have a
public right to Internet access once they purchase it, and, much like with
electricity and other public utilities, have the ability to complain to the FCC
if they suspect abuse by their ISP.
What this Means
for Small Businesses
In short, net neutrality means that large companies will
not be able to prioritize access to their data over that of smaller businesses
or other lawful web users who have not paid off ISPs for priority. By way of
example, this ensures that your business’ website will be no less accessible
than Wal-Mart’s or Microsoft’s and that all lawful content on the Internet
receives equal bandwidth from ISPs. In addition, given the Internet’s status as
a public utility, the plan also gives the FCC the regulatory power to punish
ISPs who are “not acting in
the public interest” such as price gouging for services or
arbitrarily discriminating in providing their service to customers.
This plan is not without opposition, however, and the FCC
is likely to be challenged on net neutrality by companies
such as Verizon in the not so distant future. By no means is the
continued “openness” of the Internet as an inherently equal public space a
certainty, however, the FCC’s net neutrality plan is a step in the direction of
assuring it stays that way.
