AMAZON,GOOGLE AND OTHERS JOIN TO DEFEND NET NEUTRALITY

Republican appointees to the US Federal Communications Commission are gearing up to scrap Obama-era regulations that force internet providers to treat all online content equally. In response, Amazon, Google, Twitter, Facebook, Dropbox, Ebay, and thousands of others companies joined in a day of action today (July 12) to defend the current rules.

The existing net-neutrality provisions prevent major telecom carriers such as AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast from blocking or slowing down access to web content. The protesters, backed by coalition of liberal advocacy groups called Battle for the Net, say a reversal of the rules would let telecom operators discriminate against specific content, potentially creating “fast lanes” only for those willing to pay broadband providers.

Advocacy groups argue that Americans will be worse off if the costs are passed down as new fees, and if providers get to pick online “winners and losers” in determining which content should receive favored treatment.

courtesy:qz.com