The Federal Communications Commissions voted to end Net Neutrality on December 14, 2017, giving network providers more control over consumers’ internet experiences.
Net Neutrality prevents network providers from slowing down or blocking websites and forcing consumers to pay to speed up or access certain sites.
In 2015, the Obama-era Net Neutrality rules were passed through legislation instead of going through the FCC.
Republicans want to end this era, and President Donald Trump designated Ajit Pai as Chairman of the FCC, who led the voting that was held on Thursday.
Three out of the five FCC members were in favor of the repeal, going against the public majority who wished for Net Neutrality to stay.
Most public schools, such as Monroe Township High School, revolve around the use of technology as the majority of Monroe teachers base their styles of teaching around the Internet.
“This [repeal] could also affect teachers by blocking the websites they use to plan lessons and how they teach,” says freshman Leo Romagnuolo.
Teachers use websites to find worksheets or Google apps to manage the classroom. Students also use the Internet to research and complete assignments.
“If the teacher is not available, I can get information off of the Internet,” said freshman Devon Kennedy.
Until then, multiple states such as Washington and New York have even said they plan to sue the FCC to delay or stop the repeal.
“If Net Neutrality gets repealed, the school would have to pay more money to use certain websites that used to be free. This would cause the school to need more money to pay for all of it, which would cause them to charge the students and their families a fee to pay for all the websites that are free with Net Neutrality,” says freshman John Bruno.
When the repeal comes into affect, teachers and students may not be able to access important websites due to the fact that their network provider might charge them more money to even access the sites.
“The internet has a major effect on my education currently. Without it, my schoolwork, including school projects, research, and homework, would be much more difficult to complete. I use the internet for school every day,” says Romagnuolo.
When the repeal will come into effect is still to be determined as the FCC are still writing up guidelines for network providers to follow, but the date will be within the next few weeks.
How will the repeal of Net Neutrality affect your day–to–day life?
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