Net Neutrality Embraced in the Beaver State

Governor Kate Brown (OR, Dem) signs net neutrality preservation into state legislature following Washington.

I know what you're thinking: "What does this have to do with entertainment technology or recording?" Settle down, mates. There is a very good reason why net neutrality has a huge impact on the music and post-production industry.

So What's This All About and why should I care?

For those who are new to the topic, "net neutrality" refers to the ethical debate that internet service providers (ISPs) should allow access to all content and websites on the internet without favoring particular products or websites. To put it plainly, if the "net" providers remain "neutral", they cannot purposefully block you from websites, charge you extra money to visit websites, or reduce your internet speeds when visiting websites they don't have money invested in.

"In Oregon, we want to make sure that access to the internet is a level playing field, instead of exacerbating economic disparity," writes Oregon Governor, Kate Brown (Oregon Live).

Many believe that if net neutrality is not protected, ISPs will implement additional costs that with hinder access to consumer favorite websites including YouTube, Netflix, iTunes, and Spotify. Content creators like musicians, artists, and filmmakers rely heavily on these internet based services in order to allow them to share their creations with a globalized community. Net neutralists are convinced that ISPs demanding additional costs and blocking competitor websites to consumers will squander the potential for content creators to monetize their work and ultimately hurt the creative arts. For established creatives this seems like a trivial matter, but for students and new talent this will pose a devastating problem to be successful. Also, the debate notes that abolishing net neutrality is a basic human rights violation barring access to information based on class and race and can be catastrophic towards a working democracy.

On the other hand, people like Ajit Pai (Chairman of the United States Federal Communications Commission, shown left) believe that abolishing net neutrality will be of little consequence to creator culture on the net and drive competition between service providers lowering costs of their services. People who align with this stance believe revenue would be used to improve the infrastructure of the net and provide consumers with a safer internet experience from abusive content. ISPs including Comcast, Xfinity, and Time Warner are heavily backing Pai, which leads to skepticism as to whether or not the motives surrounding his propositions are centric around corporate interests.

So what happens now?

Now we sit back and watch the fireworks. Oregon and Washington are not alone with their movement. Other states like California are also in bed with the idea of protecting net neutrality with state legislative intervention. The debates are still in full swing and many careers for artists within film, music and gaming are in flux of prosperity and failure. Voice your opinions in the comments below.

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