Internet is NOT happy with the FCC's net neutrality plans it seems

[Len]

Web giants including Amazon, Netflix and Mozilla are fighting to save the web from political and corporate interference

After it was announced yesterday that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will repeal the landmark 2015 order that enforced net neutrality in the US, the internet quite rightly reacted with outrage and concern. 

At the time of writing, all but one of the top 25 subreddits concerns the threat to fair the internet as we know it, with thread names including: "We want Net Neutrality" and "Urgent: if you aren't worried about net neutrality you should be".



Even singer Cher waded in on the subject, tweeting that the end of net neutrality would make the internet "slower and more expensive" and that users would "see less" while being "charged more". If you're not sure what net neutrality is or how it could affect us in the UK, all your questions should be answered on this page.
 

Extra costs The big internet companies would – reluctantly – pay for access to the “fast lane” but the extra costs involved could well be passed on to consumers. Services such as Netflix may have to spread the burden on customers by increasing subscriptions globally.

Less choice Smaller companies in the ‘slow lane’ may find they attract too few users and so they may not expand to these shores in the way we'd hope. New startups be affected because the cost of providing an optimum service will rise.

Blocked content If one company – let's choose Spotify as an example – pays an ISP a fortune, then removing restrictions that prevent broadband providers from discriminating could see rivals restricted or even blocked and that would inevitably have a knock-on effect worldwide.

A tiered internet Although changes across the pond won’t water down the EU’s net neutrality laws, it's still scary to hear suggestions that ISPs may seek to offer basic internet packages limited to certain content, with charges or wider use.