The internet, while not always a shining example of good morals, is undeniably a bastion of free speech: Anyone can post anything online and potentially have it seen by thousands.

The availability of information on the internet has been funda- mental to our development as a country. Important civil liberties, such as the right to free speech, are enshrined in the Bill of Rights, where they remain protected from any corporation and government.

However, the right to freely browse the internet is not as safe. The principle of “net neutrality,” the idea that internet service providers (ISPs) should treat all content on the internet equally, has recently been under attack by the government.

Without net neutrality, ISPs can police the internet in a Big- Brother-esque fashion, limiting or even denying requests to websites they do not like.

For the average individual, there really is no argument in favor of disbanding net neutrality, because it would only mean restricted internet usage. Our current federal administration seems to be of the mindset that the idea of net neutrality is not worth saving. This is simply unacceptable.

The comments the FCC used to support its claim that net neutrality is not important were shown to be fraudulent, as noted by the Washington Post. Still, the FCC succeeded in removing previous net neutrality protections at the federal level. However, measures to keep net neutrality alive still exist.

In fact, our state government is working on a bill that will ensure some aspects of net neutrality remain active.

I urge everyone to get involved with the struggle to keep net neutrality alive. Call your representatives and spread awareness of the importance of net neutrality.

It is the only way we can maintain the internet as we know it today.

David Hacker

Thousand Oaks