For those of you that know about net neutrality and what it is, you already know why it is significant and why it is important to protect. You can probably just skip ahead to the last paragraph. For those of you who don’t know, I have provided here in the following paragraphs an explanation of what this topic is and why you should take note of it.

Net neutrality is a topic that has begun gaining attention recently, and for good reason. It is a topic that affects all of us in some way or another, and should be taken very seriously. So what is it?

Well, Net Neutrality means that all internet data is treated equally. While that might seem confusing, it actually isn’t. All it means is that when you pay for internet access, you pay for internet access. That is seriously all. Your internet service provider (ISP) provides you access to the internet so you can access, upload and download whatever you want. Your ISP does not care about the data that is transmitted; it doesn’t care whether it came from Google or Bing. (By the way, data does not mean data in the scientific sense, such as results of experiments. When “data” is referred to, it means any information whatsoever. It just means all information that is transmitted, everything you do on the internet involves data. Think of a “data plan” that you would buy for your phone.)

So what’s the big deal? Well, some ISPs have decided that they don’t like net neutrality. They want to get rid of it. Why? Because then they can make more money. How? Well, they would be able to block or restrict data from certain companies or users unless they paid more. For example, Comcast (one of the ISPs pushing for this) could enter in a deal with, say Microsoft, where Microsoft agrees to pay extra money to have all data involving Bing to work well while anything involving Google would be blocked. People that use Comcast or would be forced to use Bing and be blocked from Google unless Google paid extra money to have their webpage accessible. This would severely limit choices and could severely harm new and small businesses. New businesses that rely on the internet for customers or to provide a service would be disadvantaged, as they may not be able to afford to give their service higher priority. This could restrict the growth of new businesses while favoring those who can afford to have their data given higher priority. This would be a huge blow to startups and small businesses.

The issue can also directly affect the user. Users could be put in situations where they have to pay extra to access certain sites or to be able to upload certain items. Imagine having to pay extra for Facebook. Imagine of your ISP decided to block change.org petitions calling for action against themselves.

Clearly, this is significant. However, this idea of all data being equal has come under threat. Recently, the FCC and congress have come under pressure by ISPs to essentially get rid of net neutrality and to allow ISPs free reign. This would make them huge amounts of money while compromising the interests of everybody that uses the internet (which is just about everyone in this country). Giant companies such as Google and Microsoft as well as hundreds of others have already spoken out against ISPs. It’s time to join them and protect our internet. ISPs are lobbying hard for the death of net neutrality, and we have to stop them. Signing this petition is a way of letting them know that you care. Let’s let these people know that we want our net neutrality and we want an open internet. We have to make clear that we will not stand for anything different. Remember, this is the internet, the thing we use just about every day. This is an issue that directly involves you and millions of others. Don’t let net neutrality be lost, take a stand today.

Also, please share this petition with whomever you can. The more people take a stand, the better.