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Net neutrality is an issue that affects everyone and can disadvantage the poor and small firms.Picture credit: Credo action 

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) repealed net neutrality and abandoned its role in regulating the biggest communications tool of the 21st century.

Concretely, “the FCC eliminated the rules that prevent internet service providers like Comcast, Verizon and AT&T from blocking, slowing down, or prioritizing one website or service over another.”

Viviane Reding, former European commissioner with responsibility for the information society, tweeted the following:

 Viviane Reding tweet

 The Chaos Computer Club Lëtzebuerg, Frënn vun der Ënn and Freifunk Lëtzebuerg, associations which raise awareness of privacy and civil rights in the internet age, issued a common statement, in which they warned of the consequences.

Using the metaphor of a motorway, they argue that abandoning net neutrality would mean that only BMWs, for example, could use the fast lane.

They wrote:

“It is clear that this is not allowed to happen. Because an internet without net neutrality leads to terrible injustice. One would have to pay for every service. Do you want to watch Netflix? Then you’ll have to pay extra. Do you want to send an email? You’ll pay extra. All this will lead to the consumer having to pay more for the same services s/he has at the moment. Start-ups and small firms will also be disadvantaged. Big multinational companies will be able to buy priority, while that is not possible for others. An internet without net neutrality is pure poison for the development of a country, for social justice and of course for the economy.”

They refer to the latest European Commission tweet:

 European Commission on net neutrality

The 2015 agreement on a guaranteed open internet is enshrined in EU law.

N.B.: A previous version erroneously called the Chaos Computer Lëtzebuerg just “Chaos Club”. We have now rectified this.