Small business, big impact: far-reaching effects of net neutrality repeal
techgenix | December 11, 2018
On Dec. 14, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal net neutrality. The new rules, called Restoring Internet Freedom Order, came into effect on April 23, 2018. Now that the new regulation has been in effect for a little over six months, we are starting to see that this new order has far-reaching consequences for Internet service providers, the digital community as a whole, and, especially, small businesses. Net neutrality was created in 2015 by the Obama administration and is based on the principle that all data has to be treated equally. The proponents of net neutrality wanted to ensure that ISPs made no discrimination in data speed and delivery because they believed the Internet should keep the flow of data as open and free as possible. This net neutrality was, in fact, seen as one of the most important advancements for creating an inclusive digital economy.