I was wrong about net neutrality (RIP) and that’s probably good news
Eight years ago I predicted the worst. Net neutrality, which had only become a thing a few years earlier, was crushed by the original Trump administration in 2017. At the time I declared it dead and explained all the bad things that would happen as a result.
Now, after A The federal appeals court ruled against After the Biden administration’s long-stalled efforts to restore net neutrality, I have to admit I was wrong. Net neutrality has never been the internet freedom fighter we thought it was, partly because it was also a product of its time, and the online and broadband world has shifted beneath our feet.
Before we get back to my apocalyptic view, it’s worth exploring what net neutrality is and should do.
Saving the Internet
Net neutrality, in the broadest sense of the word, is about ensuring that the pipes or infrastructure and systems that deliver your internet to you (websites, streaming platforms, services) treat all those bits and bytes as the same. So an ISP (internet or broadband service provider) like Comcast in the US doesn’t view one type of data differently than another. It never prioritizes information coming from one of its own services (NBC) over another (ABC, owned by Disney).
If someone who controls transit has a political ax to grind, he or she can’t turn off the data connection to opposing views.
It’s a simple concept, but one with enormous implications. Free speech advocates believe that a neutral Internet is critical to maintaining a balance between voting and basic fairness.
But net neutrality has always been seen as an interpretation of that of 1934 Title II of the Telecommunications Act, which promises “reasonable prices and non-discriminatory practices.” But it was written for phone companies, not broadband providers. The courts essentially said that US federal agencies like the FCC cannot simply reinterpret their own rules for, say, more modern purposes.
As a result, broadband service providers cannot be affected by Title II rules, Net Neutrality does not meet regulatory requirements, and it is now dead.
But since the Biden administration’s attempts to restore them have been blocked almost from the moment FCC voted to reinstate themwe have been operating in a world without net neutrality since 2017.
Here’s a summary of what I predicted would happen:
- End of good online content
- End of affordable online content
- End of independent online content
- Harder to find your favorite websites
- Slower broadband speeds
- ISPs control free and fair expression
What really happened
Some of these things have happened, but have little or nothing to do with net neutrality. Come to think of it, the worst changes to our online experience have little to do with ISPs, the so-called gatekeepers, and more to do with large and still largely unregulated tech companies.
For example, Google influences the type of content you can find, especially small independent websites, some of which disappearing as I write this. Google is not a broadband service provider, but it is the main way most people find things on the Internet, and it is changing the situation very quickly. AI summaries at the top of search results are already pushing most websites – where the original information can be found – out of the picture. Big sites like The New York Times can withstand this. Small sites, not so many.
The cost of content
Content has become more expensive, especially that of most of our top streaming services. This has almost nothing to do with the backbone costs passed on by ISPs, and a lot to do with the intense competition to fulfill our binge-watching needs with new content. There are a lot of streaming options, and the platforms without the new, exciting thing to watch are the ones that lose. Extreme streaming price increases, a crackdown on password sharing, a proliferation of streaming platforms and the return of bundles have marked the past decade.
The battle is to maintain subscriber growth at virtually any cost (to themselves and to you). Even if we had net neutrality, I’m sure it would have little to no impact on these trends.
Rethinking ISPs
ISPs often seem to have the least power of all the tech players. Yes, they can set the price for your broadband internet, but with at least some competition in most markets (okay, you usually have two choices), they know they still have to deliver the fastest possible speeds at attractive prices that usually lock in in a year or so.
The cable industry in particular has been turned upside down by cord cutters who no longer pay for cable, but still buy internet access from the same companies. To their credit, in large part, ISPs have adapted and are happy to offer platforms where you can never watch cable or broadcast again, but can try to watch live boxing on Netflix with 110 million of your friends. I have yet to see evidence of throttling; instead, it’s the streamers who are struggling to meet the insane spikes in demand during increasingly frequent livestream events.
Ten years ago, I was quite concerned that an unregulated Internet would silence independent voices. But then again, ISPs were never the culprits. Instead, the management of speech was left to social media platforms, most of which did a terrible job and still struggle to get it right to this day. Even newer platforms like Bluesky are located make an effort to implement reasonable speech controls.
Net neutrality cannot solve this
What I realize is that our digital experience presents much bigger issues than whether or not net neutrality exists. For the most part, ISPs seem less interested in controlling our online experience than in making sure they don’t suffer another major outage.
I do believe in fairness and equality, but I think we’re long past the point of trying to rewrite old rules to meet a modern need. Instead, it’s time for someone, anyone, to create real, broad regulations for the modern digital age. Something that focuses on oversized tech companies, harmful online content, affordable streaming and basic high-speed broadband for every citizen.
I have long argued that broadband is a human right. Can we create global regulations that recognize this once and for all?
I’m happy to admit that I was wrong about net neutrality. Now let’s move on and get started on making a truly just internet a reality.