Thread by @reydelaplaya

#NetNeutrality regulations were set up by the previous administration to ensure that all data, all 1s & 0s traveling across the internet were treated equally and fairly - basically a utility like water and electricity - you pay for what you use or what’s included in your plan.1/x

Doing this prevented companies like Comcast and AT&T from messing with your data and internet experience - as both of those companies had been caught, prior to #NetNeutrality, either throttling, or blocking certain websites. 2/x

I can attest personally to the AT&T one since they are my own carrier, and have been for almost 20 years. They promised us unlimited data on our iPhone packages when it first came out, then they started throttling our speeds because we were actually using it. 3/x

Comcast was caught blocking their customers’ access to a webservice that directly competed with a service they offered (and charged extra for).

#NetNeutrality laws were drafted, and gone over extensively to protect you, I, and other internet users in the US from unfair play 4/x

..by the service providers. It was passed, and our internet functioned without blocking (see 1st amendment). Having it repealed allows ISPs to block access to any website or service they decide.

I see in your profile you are a supporter of the 2nd amendment. 5/x

While I would qualify as a liberal, I too support our 2nd amendment rights.

But now imagine for a second that your internet provider didn’t, or took issue with the 2nd amendment. Without #NetNeutrality, they could block you from accessing sites or info on the internet that 6/x

.. had anything to do with the 2nd A, guns, and our right to bear arms if we choose. And it will be perfectly legal for them to do that without #NetNeutrality regulations in place.

And there is the problem. They’ll have an opportunity to stifle OUR 1st amendment simply by 7/x

..disagreeing with the content you, or I, or anyone else wishes to access online.

This goes way beyond them charging more for access to Facebook, eBay, and Spotify like what most ppl are concerned with. This gives private companies, formerly bound by these regulations, the 8/x

..ability to censor your online experience however they see fit. Now of course 🙄 they swear they won’t do anything like that, but thing is, they already have, and their activities were exactly the reason the #NetNeutrality regulations were put into place to begin with. 9/x

This is why we as citizens of the US, regardless of our political ideologies, need to stand up for #NetNeutrality  and keep it from getting officially repealed. Because if not, we may start to lose our 1st amendment online. 10/x

Because if we don’t protect #NetNeutrality , the freedom of the internet, and our 1st amendment rights online, ISPs can censor whatever they want, *so we may never get the news when they’re coming for our 2nd.* 11/11

Peace 🙂