Keep internet truly free
The internet has become invaluable for day-to-day life in our society. We use it to apply for jobs, get our news, educate ourselves and our children, communicate and more.
However, this great resource is under threat of becoming incredibly restricted.
A new bill deceptively named the “Restoring Internet Freedom Act” has been introduced and will soon be up for vote in the Senate. This bill does the complete opposite of restoring internet freedom. It instead removes regulations that were enacted in 2015 to prevent internet service providers like Spectrum and AT&T from treating online content unequally and intentionally restricting or limiting browsing speeds to law-abiding websites.
If this bill passes, Spectrum and AT&T, which provide service to the majority of Kentuckians, will be able to intentionally slow down speeds to competitor websites or small businesses who can’t afford new fees for “premium” access.
Unfortunately, Sen. Rand Paul is a cosponsor of this bill and, as such, fully supports what it stands for: less freedom for us and more money for corporations. Let Paul and Sen. Mitch McConnell know this is not in our best interest.
Chris Schweiger
Louisville
This story was originally published October 5, 2017 at 4:52 PM with the headline "Keep internet truly free."