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Net Neutrality Rules

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In December 2017, the Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal net neutrality rules set in place during the Obama administration. This decision has reignited heated debate on the value of public versus private interests, as well as government regulation of the media and internet throughout the nation. So, why does this decision matter? In order to understand the implications of the repeal, it is necessary to understand what net neutrality itself is, its history, and the inherent link between the internet and democracy in the United States in our modern age.
Throughout history, the government has struggled to keep up with the rapid advancement of communication technology. The Federal Communications Commission is “...an independent …show more content…
In our democratic society, the choices of voters are inherently linked to the types of media they are exposed to, and thus linked to the necessity of an open internet. For example, if voters are being exposed to media controlled by a select few corporations, how can the public trust that those decisions have not been good intention yet ill-informed? As Drale puts it: “Media are [then] tied to the outcomes of democratic procedure because the outcomes (regulation and deregulation, for example) will determine how media are used and controlled by citizens.” Without net neutrality, it will be much more difficult for independent media to survive. The political narratives that we as consumers have access to must rely wholly on the fairness and objectivity of the six media giants in charge of our content. Without regulation of those corporations, we will never truly know if what we are being shown is the whole …show more content…
The needs and desires of corporations should never be valued over the autonomy and intellectual freedom of the citizen. The FCC was founded to protect the interests of the public-- and in 2017 it has failed us. The functionability of our society is now inherently linked with the internet and the media, whether we like it or not. There is no longer a world that exists without it. The internet has become a vital component of everyday life and citizenship for a majority of the people, and thus should be classified as a utility and protected as such. To undermine the importance of the internet in the modern age is to undermine democracy

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