Federal Communication Commission chairman, and grown man who desperately wants to go viral online, released an incredibly misleading video in which he explains why “his plan to restore internet freedom” is good for you.
The FCC is supposed to vote on Thursday to repeal the Obama-era net neutrality rules. So by “freeing” the internet, Pai’s FCC will actually kill net neutrality, paving the way for an internet that can be abused by service providers.
The video below, posted on The Daily Caller, is supposed to be silly and funny to the point where you’d want to share it with your friends and family. It’s not. It’s pretty misleading.
Titled 7 things you can still do on the internet after net neutrality — I never realized “after net neutrality” can sound so creepy — the video tells you that your internet experience will not change after the internet is freed.
There’s some truth to that. It’s unlikely that ISPs will make any moves that will prove to the world that killing net neutrality was a bad idea.
As Pai explains, you’ll still be able to “gram” your food, take selfies with your pets, shop online, binge watch your favorite shows, access your favorite sites and communities, and get your meme game on.
What Pai doesn’t say is that, “after net neutrality,” your internet provider may charge you extra for some services. Or it may charge some of the internet companies out there for faster lanes. Which, in turn, will dump those extra costs on you, the consumer. Binge watching shows will still be there. But imagine having to pay more to see the latest season of Stranger Things or Game of Thrones just because ISPs may charge Netflix or HBO more money so that their customers get a great experience.
I’m not saying this will happen on Friday, in a year from now, or even later down the road. I’m just saying that once net neutrality is out the door, ISPs will be the ones who are really free to do anything they wish. And that’s something Pai’s idiotic video doesn’t address.
And it’s not just US internet users who may be affected by the new rules, “after net neutrality.” Other countries may follow America’s lead, and similarly cripple access to a truly free internet.