(Updated: On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal net neutrality, rules that regulated the businesses that connect consumers to the internet.)

For you and me, the repeal of net neutrality can be boiled down to two questions: What might happen? And whom do you trust?

Here’s our guide for internet users looking for answers.

The Backdrop

The net neutrality rules were passed in 2015 during the Obama administration when Democrats controlled the F.C.C.

The goal was to adapt regulations in such a way as to acknowledge the essential role of high-speed internet access as a gateway to modern communication, information, entertainment and economic opportunity. So the F.C.C. opted to regulate broadband service as a utility — making the internet the digital equivalent of electricity and the telephone.