On May 16, the US Senate voted against the FCC ruling to preserve Net Neutrality, the principle that internet service providers cannot deny or restrict access to select sites; that is,- ISPs must be indifferent to what sites are visited by the user in terms of the speeds they provide.

This is a pretty big deal—especially considering the alliances between networks and ISPs. Take Comcast, for an example. Comcast is one of the largest ISPs in the country, and they’re partnered with NBC. Given the current net neutrality rules, legally, they cannot promote NBC’s offerings over a competitors, such as ABC. If these rules were scrapped, Comcast could slow users speeds while trying to watch ABC online (which would include Disney, ESPN, etc) and promote and even speed up content on NBC and their subsidiary networks.

The current rules are in place to benefit YOU, the consumer. With the seemingly imminent repeal of net neutrality, those consumer protections would disappear into the void of free market capitalism, and companies would make decisions to benefit them, not the consumer. Net neutrality is a luxury that consumers take for granted, and standing by passively as they are discarded in the name of profit for friends of the government would be foolhardy.
The FCC has made headlines for repealing net neutrality, yet they are the very agency responsible for protecting these rights. Net neutrality is the right of the consumer in America. The Senate may have struck down its repeal, but it still must clear the House and the Oval Office.

The fight isn’t quite over yet. With a rallying cry of streaming equality for all, the consumer populace can be a positive influence to our government to choose the people over large corporations. Save the stream!