Think of all the uses the internet has. It allows us to stay in contact with distant friends and family members through social media. It helps us study and research for various homework assignments. Now think of having to pay for all these uses and more. Well on Nov. 21, the Federal Communication Commission announced their plan to repeal the net neutrality act that was put into place by the Obama administration back in May of 2010.  

Taking away this luxury is comparable to repealing free healthcare. Once people are used to getting something for free, it is harder to charge money for that particular service, it simply outrages them. This is especially due to the fact that since its creation, the internet has been free of charge in America.

How the internet has worked since its creation is that internet users have been able to wander the infinite realms of the online world without cost; this is net neutrality. Without it, the internet could be comparable to a speed bump, slowing down every so often to charge you fees for faster service or even faster websites.

This will not only place a bias on internet providers and allow them to essentially bully these website contributors to charge more for speedier content, but intentionally slow down websites for the consumer.

Companies may favor one streaming network over the other and as a result, they may charge users to pay for the other streaming network. The streaming service that is offered as free on the company plan will prosper and the ones that consumers have to pay for will eventually fail and go out of business. This is because we are used to having free things. Not only does this harm other businesses but it also limits what viewers are allowed to stream.

If  net neutrality were to be dissolved, social media will now have to be paid for. Imagine having to pay to talk to family members on a platforms that were once free.

The FCC will vote for the proposal on Dec. 14. The decision will be made by the five chairman of the FCC and only three of the five chairman need to vote in favor of dissolving net neutrality to get rid of it.

Net neutrality prohibits high-speed internet service providers from stopping or slowing down the delivery of websites and prevent companies from charging customers extra fees for high-quality streaming and other services.

What will this mean for students? Where will we be able to find sources and do research for homework? The library has closing hours, but the internet does not. Students have busy schedules, what will they do when they finish a shift and find the library is closed? Especially those that can not afford to pay for credible online sources. What will this mean for students who commute? Will they have library access so close to their homes? In an age where the internet seems almost necessary for schoolwork, students may have to resort to other means if net neutrality is repealed.

To join the fight for net neutrality, sign this petition: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/do-not-repeal-net-neutrality