I became interested in net neutrality in the earlier days of the Internet. I found at least one previous post from 2008. Net neutrality proposes that the company that provides you access to content on the Internet cannot intervene in what you watch or read. It was once described as any packet must be treated the same as any other packet. At the time, the concern was that most folks had access to only a single entry point (and sometimes no access point), and it should not be possible to manipulate what they accessed when there was not reasonable access to an alternative source.
At the time the FCC took this position, it was under Democratic control. When Republicans gained control, they reversed this decision. Now, I admit I did not feel I had a lack of control over what I could access under the Republican FCC, but I objected because by removing the neutrality ruling this manipulation was possible.
This past week the FCC has again reinstated the requirement of neutrality. Under the Biden administration, the FCC is now back to 3-2 Democratic commissioners. Should the government have a role in requiring neutrality? Given the tremendous influence of the information we access online, I would argue neutrality must be guaranteed. The potential for abuse seems so obvious and so damaging this seems like a matter that should not be associated with a political party.
The time it took to get to this change in policy must say something about how our government works. For a time, the newly nominated commissioner was not approved to be seated. When there are complaints about why political actions are happening now and why not two years ago, this makes a good example. Resistance to action needs to be properly attributed.