I remember people flipping out about it a few years ago and tried looking into it, but I was still confused on what it actually is. I recently heard the term come up again while watching an older video on YouTube and was hoping someone could simplify it
In: Technology
A number of years ago, Comcast was basically caught making Netflix video perform poorly for their customers. This might have been before the 4k era, but at the time watching 4k would have been impossible, and even 1080p might not work or it would stutter.
At the time it was known Netflix was in “negotiations” with Comcast ending with Netflix paying comcast actual money. After that, Netflix performance for Comcast customers improved. Yeah, that actually happened.
Net Neutrality is about companies like comcast NOT being allowed to do things like that. The internet is meant to be an equal, level playing field for everybody and internet provides are not allowed to play favourites.
One common concern is that the Internet could become like TV is, with “packages”. Want Youtube? Pay your internet provider a few extra dollars. Don’t worry, Facebook is part of the base package and is free. No, we don’t want that to happen and unfortunately we may need laws to prevent it from happening.
Your internet connection is basically defined by how it arrives to you. Cable and fiber are the top speed options these days, and the wiring is owned by your TV provider for the cable, and whoever put in the fiber for that. Phone wire is an option but it’s relatively slow. So, most people have really limited options and can’t just “shop around” so easily if their existing internet providers decide to do a dick move.
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