Freedom should win

The FCC has been trying to regulate ISPs for several years now, and recently released the “National Broadband Plan”, with far reaching implications for the ISP industry. The FCC has also been pushing for Net Neutrality, which was the basis for the lawsuit filed by Comcast against the agency. A federal court has now ruled that the FCC lacks the authority to enforce Net Neutrality.

Net Neutrality is an essential principle that needs to be enforced upon all ISPs. Why? Because companies like Comcast will otherwise restrict our access to the internet (and thus information) and charge us for data intensive services such as data and video streaming which have become almost a necessity these days. It is really a bipartisan issue – it is really a question of freedom over the internet.

The FCC should have the authority to regulate broadband providers and enforce rules such as Net Neutrality, simply because we don’t need more bureaucracy to deal with this issue. It is hard to argue that internet usage, which includes email, chat, etc., doesn’t fall under “communications” and, if the current FCC charter doesn’t include this, the Congress needs to pass a law to make it happen.

Understandably, Comcast is trying its best to maximize profits by imposing as many fees as possible, which will undoubtedly happen if Net Neutrality fails, and regulations need to prevent such blatant greed.