The debate about net neutrality is skewed. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai wants to eliminate internet neutrality of service providers. Arguments on the “pro elimination” side are about profit. If they can control the “speed” of certain internet sites, profit increases. Speed is what makes internet experiences somewhere between delightful and exasperating.
The argument is whether or not information sources should be controlled by the 1 percent. Ninety percent of the media is owned and controlled by six companies. Taxpayers made the internet; we funded it and use it as a platform for free speech. If net neutrality falls, we lose one of the main underpinnings of our democracy.
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, voted to quash net neutrality. She apparently agrees that corporate interests should be able to charge more for internet service while limiting the available sites. We communicate through the internet more than ever and need net neutrality. It matters for our current and future freedoms.
Standing up to those who want to take that away seems like a full-time job lately. Let’s call and write the FCC, telling them not to eliminate net neutrality. Then, let’s replace Herrera Beutler with someone who’ll act on behalf of all of us, not a favored few.
