There are multiple pros and cons to net neutrality. Net neutrality provides a sense of freedom on the web. It provides Non-Discriminetory access - basically every website and web searcher are treated the same. The sense of freedom allows people to express their creativity that potentially leads to innovations such as Google, Youtube, Etsy etc. Also, net neutrality creates a competitive market place since most people only have access to a couple internet service providers. The cons to net neutrality include issues that cable providers have and issues with legislation. Cable providers are generally against net neutrality since they believe in tiered access - paying for different levels of internet service. Therefore this would cause larger companies to pay which would finance network improvements. The issue with legislation is that the internet changes so quickly that it results in inadequate laws that can provide loopholes for unethical behavior. There is obviously two different views of net neutrality that all web users should take into consideration.
Recently in the news a federal appeals court ruled that the FCC doesn't have the right to enforce the rules of net neutrality. The court declared that the government is in charge over overseeing "crucial" utilities like telephone service and electricity - therefore saying that internet connection is not a crucial service under current law. The FCC has suggested appealing the ruling. However, everybody who accesses the internet does it through a service provider - one that most likely has been pushing to control tiered access. The providers argue that they provide a service and therefore should be able to control how they deliver it and how they charge customers for it. This is an issue for everyone because even though the service providers would target large companies to charge more, the cost can trickle down to every day users. For example, if a service provider were to charge Netflix more, Netflix would ultimately have to result in charging its customers more.
The issue of net neutrality is tied to the topic of freedom of speech. The new ruling for net neutrality essentially means that a few phone and cable companies can rule the internet. Without net neutrality it makes it easy for these companies to make it harder for users to communicate online and essentially can censor users speech. Companies will also be able to block content they don't like, reject apps that compete with their offerings, and can prioritize web traffic.These actions create a sense of lack of privacy for users which ultimately makes it less open and secure.
The recent news about net neutrality would affect me in various ways. For one, if my service provider told me I had to pay more for faster internet, I simply couldn't do that because I can not afford to pay anymore than I already do. So is that saying that me, a college student, should suffer through slower internet and sacrifice potential time that I could spend educating myself? Also, I blog regularly on a separate website. If service providers were allowed to censor what I had available on my blogs feed, it would affect the enjoyment I receive and make sharing more difficult.
I stand against the effort of removing net neutrality. I think it absolutely interferes with the first ammendment and the enjoyment people receive through using the internet as a tool of expression. I, along with many other people, would not enjoy paying more money for better service. It makes sense from a corporate view point - these companies will absolutely make more money - but I don't think that gives them the right to take away users rights.
Other Sources:
http://www.savetheinternet.com/net-neutrality
This site explained how net neutrality relates to freedom of speech.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/jwherrman/welcome-to-the-net-neutrality-nightmare-scenario
This site explains the net neutrality incident in more detail, also showing both sides of the argument.
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