According to a new survey by the Pew Research Center, roughly 61% of the US public know what net neutrality is. Specifically, the multiple-choice survey questions (pdf) asked participants if net neutrality was "the postings on websites that are non-partisan" (12% agreed with this); a promise by users of some websites that they will not make critical comments (13% agreed); the way Wikipedia editors are instructed to handle new
entries on their site (6%); or "Equal treatment of digital content by internet service
companies" (61%). From personal experience I'd wager that the number is actually lower than 61%, and many people answered correctly courtesy of contextual clues or just blind luck.
My 80 year old father just told me President Obama is trying to control the Internet. After a few minutes I discovered this was his impression of net neutrality. I'm not sure which news source provided this version of the truth but after spending 10 minutes explaining the issues, he did a 180 and thinks Net Neutrality is a good idea.
However, I did caution him that reclassifying ISPs is a nuclear option and in some ways is similar to a presidential executive action because our legislature isn't able to pass the necessary reforms.
I told him I don't agree with the current Status Quo but I'm not sure I like President Obama's proposed fix either. Without a lot of FCC restraint (which has been promised -- fingers and toes probably crossed), it may swing the pendulum too far in the other direction.
This might be an example of Poe's Law and was intended as a sarcastic reply... or maybe westdc really thinks that Net Neutrality really means a government takeover of the Internet.
If this is a Poe (see my other comment), then good one - though you might want to include some sign that you're kidding.
If you're serious, however, then sure we could keep the government out. However, who will keep the large ISPs out of the business of meddling with the Internet traffic for the purposes of improving their bottom line?
If Comcast decides to slow down Netflix because it threatens their cable TV business, who else can we turn to but the government? We can't rely on the market to fix the situation because Comcast is the only option for many people in Comcast's coverage area. At best, they might have one other option.
Comcast and the other large ISPs know they have a monopoly (or duopoly) on wired, broadband Internet access. They want to be able to abuse this to help their cable TV business against competition from Internet video providers.
Network Neutrality isn't a new system that is going to be put in place. It's the current system that ISPs have used up until now - treating every piece of data the same as other pieces of data of the same type no matter what the source. Video packets should be treated the same whether they come from Netflix, YouTube, or HBO's online service. The ISP shouldn't prioritize one video source because the ISP is extorting money from the video providers and one caved (and/or had enough money to pay).