<i>Consumer Reports</i>: What Is Net Neutrality?

Even Senator John McCain was for Net Neutrality, before he was against it.
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The folks at Consumer Reports provide some of the most trustworthy
reporting anywhere, doing lots of fact checking, with the highest
degree of integrity humans can exhibit. (yes, I've said that before,
and will repeat.)

Network neutrality is a fancy way of saying the networks that deliver the Internet should treat all content, sites, and applications equally and shouldn't discriminate against certain traffic based on its source, destination or message. The basic idea is the Internet should
be open so consumers have unrestricted access to lawful Web sites and online businesses can compete freely.

Some Internet service providers want to give preferential treatment to certain network traffic -for example, their own content or that of those willing to pay extra fees. Without network neutrality Internet service providers could block or slow down traffic to any Web sites or services they choose. Services, such as making free or cheap phone calls over the Internet, or streaming video, could be blocked. So could the sharing of lawful media content or access to certain political
content.

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