The repeal will take several weeks to fully go into effect. The FCC chairman Ajit Pai was one of the biggest defenders of the repeal, most of his arguments leaning towards the idea that repealing net neutrality would better help the free market take its course.

Net neutrality is the idea that internet service providers (ISPs, as they are often called), such as Verizon, Comcast, and AT&T, must treat all data equally. No website or service can be sped up or slowed down.

In other words, internet connections must provide every website and service at the same speed and cost under these rules. Of course, commonly accepted exceptions exist. For instance, some internet traffic may be slowed down in case of congestion or spam on a website.

A study done by the University of Maryland found that over 80% of American voters oppose the repeal. 75.4% of GOP voters, 88.5% of Dem voters, and 85.9% of independent voters oppose the repeal, with a margin of error of about 3% positive or negative.

Mr. Rohman, the “tech guy” at Arlington High School, holds a different opinion than many on the issue.

“ISPs don’t want to change their policies by slowing down,” he said. “The internet should be completely open, it doesn’t need more regulation.”

Some students, however, know little of the issue.

“I don’t search for controversial or political items on Google,” said KT Bentley (‘20).

“I wasn’t able to learn much about it so far,” said Laura Brethauer (‘20). “After a little while ago, I kind of just forgot about it.”

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/14/technology/net-neutrality-repeal-vote.html

http://elaw.guide/net-neutrality-for-dummies/

http://www.publicconsultation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Net_Neutrality_Quaire_121217.pdf