The phrase net neutrality doesn’t mean much to those who use phrases like MyFace, FaceSpace, world wide web, computer illiterate, The Hills (just a guess, but I have confidence in this prediction), or anyone who has had to call their child for tech support. Neither party has really jumped head first into this debate and the story itself rarely gets more than a passing nod on the nightly news. Before taking sides on the issue, it’s important to understand just what the issue is, and what is at stake.

Net Neutrality is the term that encompasses the entire debate surrounding the freedom of information on the internet. Currently, paying any one internet provider for service will provide the very same internet to each and every user, no matter the provider. Those in favor of Net Neutrality want to protect this model of the internet. Those opposed to Net Neutrality want to create tiered internet access packages. This means the internet provider will determine what sites are accessible and at what speeds as well as how much time may be spent on a certain site. Some sites may even be blocked entirely.

For example: equate the internet with electricity. There are many electricity providers, and you have the freedom of choice to select any one that you please. You have a new toaster that you want to use to toast all kinds of tasty bread products: bagels, english muffins, bread, pop tarts, strudel, you name it. Small problem though, there are several electricity providers … and they all have very different electrical service plans and packages. It’s just electricity, right? Wrong. Without net neutrality, each of these electricity providers would have a different level of service. These levels aren’t how much electricity you get, but what kind of electricity. If you go with provider A, you can toast bread, but toasting anything else will make you late for work. If you go with electricity provider B, you can toast english muffins and pop-tarts, but you can’t toast bread at all.

This is not a debate about the free market, restrictions on business, or government intrusion. This is a debate about access to information. Should Net Neutrality fail, then companies offering internet access such as Google, Verizon, AT&T, Comcast, and Time Warner (just to name a few) will have the ability to restrict what you will be able to see on the internet.

These companies want to create a subscription service similar to the television model. The difference between the internet and television is that anyone and everyone can place information on the internet while television is a highly controlled medium of entertainment and information (yes, in that order). Should any party take up establishing Net Neutrality as their primary platform, they will carry the electronic generation’s attention, support, and vote.