I am a citizen of the United States. I support existing net neutrality rules under Title II. All internet data should be equal. Large companies such as Verizon can create the pipeline but they should not be allowed to control in ANY way what flows through them. No one should be allowed to charge more or less for the data that flows through these pipes; and above all they should not be allowed to slow down or block access to websites. We must have a level playing field for everyone. This is the fundamental bedrock of the internet since day one. It protects little companies from being pushed out of business by big companies such as Verizon, Comcast, etc.
Most importantly Freedom of Speech is at stake here. Without net neutrality large companies can exercise control over every citizen’s access to the news and information THEY want to access. These companies can influence and/or tip elections at every level. The fact that these companies CLAIM they just would not do that is complete nonsense. They will do whatever allows them to make more money. We cannot take this chance.
“One of the most high-profile examples of abuse was Comcast throttling traffic to Netflix in order to extract a payment deal from the streaming video provider, which it eventually agreed to pay. And in 2012, AT&T blocked FaceTime on iPhones, claiming it was using too much bandwidth. In this case, critics argued it was an attempt to block a service that competed with its own voice services. And as the biggest ISPs keep gobbling up content-producers, like AT&T buying DirectTV and then providing free access to its content, the risks that ISPs will start prioritizing traffic only increase”. Libby Watson
Our democratic rights are at risk. The democracy should not be in the hands of large corporations and lobbyists. This is about the greater good for all not the money making business interests of large corporations.