Who remembers the boisterous battle against the overturning of net neutrality: the articles, the outrage, the voiced implications for the future of the Free Internet? There is very little widespread knowledge about what net neutrality actually IS, and even less understanding about the implications of the regulation (and of overturning this regulation).

Internet service providers (ISPs) are the link that connect users to the internet. They run "in the background" and are largely unnoticed in day-to-day internet use. As long as users can access it and it isn't prohibitively expensive, no one questions how it works. A good general rule of thumb (that extends to all internet use): If the service is free, they are exploiting your data to turn a profit.

so then... how does it work?

AT&T was the first {resesarch}. The internet service providers

But do not be mistaken: ISPs are a business -- a very lucrative, profitable business that forms an inescapable link in modern-day technology. Like tech companies, they make behavioral profiles, sell user data without consent, use cookies and third-party trackers, lobby against stricter regulation, and partner with tech companies to maximize their income. They hold power in the legal world because they are the key (and the lock) to internet access (or lack thereof).

the precedent set by the backbone of modern-day technology

Unlike online services and products, everyone with a cell phone or home wifi requires an internet service provider.

some (more) evidence to turn you against isps

Preface: The three major ISP rainmakers in the US are: AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Together, they control ~98% of the US wireless market {ref};

• Back in 2014, Verizon invented the "supercookie" and injected these cookie-like mega trackers into users' traffic to build user profiles without their consent [1];
• AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile actively lobby against net neutrality and against privacy regulations, each spending up to $15 million per year {ref};
• AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile spend up to $15 million each year to lobby against net neutrality and privacy regulations;
• The FCC fined AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile for selling users' real-time location data, including bounty hunters and stalkers;

the elusive "net neutrality"

It was overturned in 2017. Has anyone heard anything about it since then?

The proposal of this legislation inspired the big players in tech to form the Internet Association (before they spent millions opposing the CCPA) [2]. There was a bandaid bill passed called the "Save the Internet Act of 2019" [3].

Since then, all three carriers have (already) been accused of throttling specific services {ref}. Considering the fact that each ISP partners with major tech companies, it demonstrates that the internet is not free and is definitely not equal.

dabbling in net... preferential treatment

Five years after net neutrality regulation was overturned (and 3 years after enacting new regulation for FCC to try to gain back some power in the internet world), ISPs are finally advertising their efforts to make some money on the ruling.

AT&T and Verizon both released statements in 2022 to advertise their pilot programs that "fast-track" access to cloud gaming services, for the competitive price of $0 -- take a guess :) to how they're making money on this one :) :) [4].

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