With internet neutrality rules changing, door opens for providers to raise rates

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The Federal Communications Commission's network neutrality decision could affect everyone using the internet and the public’s access to knowledge, education and connection. “The libraries, schools, the public...all could feel this in the same way,” said Doug Harkness, technology manager at the James V. Brown Library in Williamsport (PA).  For the public, that could mean paying higher fees for their everyday internet activities separately.

Although any change to the way the internet service providers operate is hypothetical this early on, they could have some far reaching impacts aside from higher costs, Harkness said. “If the ISPs (internet service providers) are free to shape internet traffic anyway they want, that could be a scary thing,” Harkness said. “To me, in an extreme case, that could even mean changing the way we read news. As it stands now, there are so many specific viewpoints on any given topic. But if the ISP is a conservative or liberal, they can say, ‘We don’t want people reading about this,’ so they can start blocking sources.”


With internet neutrality rules changing, door opens for providers to raise rates