The Pros And Cons Of Net Neutrality Regulations

Due to the recent expansions in the availability of technology, the ability to access information has become increasingly more common. This ability to search for information and view content through the internet is currently protected in the United States under a set of laws that are commonly referred to as Net Neutrality regulations. Although many people are unaware of what the concept of net neutrality is, it is understood that the results of any change to current internet regulations would affect have long-lasting effects on all internet users. “Net Neutrality” is a concept that was defined and popularized by Tim Wu, a legal scholar and net neutrality advocate, as being, “the idea that any network traffic… can move from one place to any other place without discrimination” (Lohr 1). Recently, this equal access to content has come under attack by certain groups that would stand to profit from the removal of current net neutrality regulations, such as internet service providers
Claims and concerns have been made by these groups, suggesting that current Net Neutrality laws should be removed or restricted, based on the belief that current regulations have limited the economic growth of businesses that depend on being accessible through the internet. Although removing current Net Neutrality regulations may lead to an increase in the growth of internet-based companies, the negative effects of doing so would far outweigh the benefits for most internet users.
Despite the recent development of the concept of net neutrality, the principle of preventing service providers from denying the transferring or altering of goods was first implemented as a set of common carrier laws in the 19th century(Madrigal 1). These “common carrier” laws were created to prevent shipping companies from being able to discriminate against the voyage of certain goods. These laws, while first proposed and