On Thursday, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and his two fellow Republican commissioners voted 3-2 to gut net neutrality rules that kept the Internet free and open.
Without the rules in place, Internet service providers can now block and censor websites, force customers to pay fees to view certain content, and force them to pay more for faster speeds.
Basically, the Internet as we know it is going to change. It’s going to be more restrictive and more costly. It’s going to hurt innovation and kill small businesses.
And it’s already pissed off millions of Americans.
Protests occurred across the country and the FCC received more opposition to the decision than support.
But Pai and his henchmen ignored the overwhelming opposition and voted to dismantle net neutrality anyway after major Internet service providers spent millions of dollars lobbying them and filling their pockets.
And Pai added insult to injury on Thursday by starring in a video for right-wing media site The Daily Caller that really feels like he thinks Americans are stupid.
In the video, Pai mocks net neutrality by assuring Americans that they can still post pictures of their food and pets on social media. He also said that Americans can still binge-watch their favorite shows and go shopping as well as ruin memes.
Seriously. This is so insulting and goddamned inappropriate.
Here’s the video via YouTube.
What Pai conveniently fails to mention is that Americans will have to pay more to continue doing these activities and could be denied access to services. For instance, Comcast or AT&T could block specific websites in an effort to force consumers to use certain websites. So, instead of being able to watch shows on Netflix, you could be forced to watch Hulu instead unless you pay a special higher price to unblock Netflix.
Or, let’s say you want to shop at your favorite online store, but it’s blocked because AT&T would rather you shop at Amazon instead.
Even social media could be affected. Let’s say you use Facebook and Instagram. When net neutrality was in place, you could use both freely. But now AT&T could favor one over the other and could force you to pay a price to post images on Instagram, which would likely force many people to abandon their accounts rather than spend extra money. And if you do spend the extra money, you would be paying to use websites that you used to use for free.
And you can forget about starting your own small business online because Internet service providers will favor corporations who pay millions of dollars over a small business that can’t afford to compete.
This is why net neutrality is so important. Without it, Internet service providers can do whatever the hell they want without consequence. That’s why so many states and businesses have filed lawsuits against the FCC. The decision literally kills the open Internet in favor of something that looks more like one would see in Russia, China, or Iran, where the Internet is restricted.
Pai claimed that killing net neutrality is about freedom. But that was a lie. This decision was about giving Internet service providers the power to control the worldwide web as they see fit. And instead of acknowledging and seeking to understand everyone’s concerns, he partnered with a right-wing media site to mock them. This little prick deserves to be punched in the face repeatedly, because while Donald Trump may be turning our nation into a fascist state a little more every day, Pai made the Internet fascist in a few minutes.
Featured Image: YouTube Screenshot
