June 11, 2018 at 03:39PM
via Lifehacker

Today marks the end—but not the permanent death—of net neutrality. You’ve probably heard the phrase “net neutrality” before, but just in case you need a refresher, here goes: Net neutrality was a set of rules introduced during the Obama presidency that basically demanded equality for all Internet content.

In other words, these legal protections prevented Internet providers from blocking or slowing certain sites because they felt like it—or because you haven’t paid them $5 extra for your “faster Facebook upgrade,” a future many net neutrality fans fear.

Additionally, the rules prevented a company (like, say, Comcast) from doing something crazy like letting Netflix run at hyperspeed while slowing Hulu down to a crawl just because one gave them a ton of money and the other did not. The idea behind the Open Internet Rule, as it was known, was to make everything a level playing field.

Repealing net neutrality is bad news for consumers, but now that the Federal Communications Commission has rolled back these regulations, we return to the Westworld wild west of the web.

What does the end of net neutrality this mean for you?

Right now, probably not much. While internet providers can now do all sorts of unpleasant things, they probably aren’t going to anytime soon. At least, not in any locations where they fear competition from other providers.

AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast have all publicly said that they don’t block or slow content and don’t have plans to do so. However, these were also the same companies that supported the repeal, so you might want to take their promises with a grain of salt. If you purchase your Internet plan from any of them, now might be a good time to consider jumping ship to a provider who actually spoke out against the repeal—if there’s even any real competition in your area.

Now is also probably a good time to look into a speedy VPN. After all, your ISP can’t throttle what it can’t see. (That said, you won’t want to use a VPN if your ISP starts offering you interesting deals—like “Netflix doesn’t count against your monthly data cap”—now that the legislative changes will give them a renewed interest in paid peering and zero-rating. You should still hate those practices, though, as they erode the notion of a free and open Internet.)

Net neutrality isn’t a done deal, just more complicated

Congress is currently trying to repeal the repeal via the Congressional Review Act. A vote to overrule the FCC’s decision has already passed the Senate and moved on to the House, where it will surely die in the Republican-controlled chamber (and if not there, than likely when it meets the pen of President Trump).

Beyond that, a number of organizations (like Mozilla) have filed lawsuits in an attempt to fight the FCC’s net neutrality rollback, as well as a number of state attorneys general. As well, a number of states are looking to pass their own net neutrality laws, which would give you similar (if not the same) Internet experience as before. Oregon, Washington, and Vermont have already passed net neutrality legislation, and plenty more have legislation pending.

And, hey, the Democrats might even end up with a few big political victories in the upcoming November elections. However, that could make net neutrality a seesaw political issue until, someday, a bipartisan group is able to hammer out some kind of permanent rule. (Don’t hold your breath.)