How to write a meaningful FCC comment supporting net neutrality

lauralot89:

Initial comments are due TODAY, July 17, so comment NOW.  You can leave comments from an international address.  Signal boost this.

If you’re unsure of what to say or how to say it, the article linked above has suggestions.  You can also feel free to use my own comment as a springboard (though obviously you’ll want to tweak things, like removing the paragraph about my employer entirely).  Parts of my comment come from this site: https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/27/how-to-comment-on-the-fccs-proposal-to-revoke-net-neutrality/

My comment:

I ask the FCC to preserve net neutrality regulations.  Equal access to a free and open Internet in
our society is critical, and I worry that the current protections in place to
ensure that access will be weakened if we change the way they’re enforced. I would
support a new regulation style if it guarantees the same or better protections,
but not if we lose any.  I do not believe
the proposed changes would uphold those protections.

My work depends on net neutrality.  My employer offers colleges across the nation
the ability to host online degree programs, helping thousands of Americans to
enrich their lives.  If ISPs are able to
pick and choose how easily their consumers can access various sites, those
Americans could lose the ability to complete a degree in a timely,
cost-effective manner.  They could be
unable to effectively communicate with their professors and peers.

I also depend on the Internet to keep in touch with my loved
ones.  Every day, access to a free and
open Internet improves my quality of life, and that of my friends.  We are separated by thousands of miles, but
our access to the Internet erases those boundaries.  It allows us to communicate with people we
can never see in person and broadens our horizons far beyond the limitations of
a physical community.  Many people in my
social circle are struggling to make ends meet as it is.  We cannot afford to pay more for the access
that we have now, nor should we have to.

The FCC has argued that if one ISP is discriminatory,
customers are always able to switch to another.
But in my case, that is untrue.
There is only one ISP in my area, and because my work is so dependent on
steady Internet access, I cannot rely on hotspots.  If the protections were weakened and my ISP
chose to discriminate, I would have no choice but to go along with that.  

The FCC has also argued that the Internet is an information
service rather than a telecommunications service, and that in buying the
Internet through an ISP, we are also buying services such as email and cloud
storage.  I have never understood this to
be the case, and nor have I ever purchased an ISP plan with the goal of
receiving such services.  My email and
storage are through separate sites unrelated to my ISP.  I cannot remember the ISP even mentioning
these services at any point.  ISPs have
always provided a telecommunications service above all else, with information
and storage services offered by unconnected websites.  I do not buy the Internet for email or
storage.  I buy it for fast, unrestricted
access to the entire Internet.

Paragraph 82 of the current proposal asks for input on
whether throttling should be regulated. In the past ISPs have throttled content
based on their own determination of what was lawful or permissible, and had to
be forced to stop in the courts. Isn’t it possible they could do this again?
I’m also concerned by mobile providers who say a plan is “unlimited,” but when
you exceed the data cap, only throttle sites and services that aren’t part of
their approved zero-rating network.

Thank you for reading my comment.  Please protect equal access to the free and
open Internet for all Americans.

How to write a meaningful FCC comment supporting net neutrality