Digital Creators Rally Against Repeal Of Net Neutrality

While a variety of opinions about a whole host of issues abound on YouTube, one thing that the creator community seems to agree on is that net neutrality is a good thing.

And today, creators decried a vote by the Federal Communications Commission under President Trump appointee Ajit Pai (pictured above) to abolish President Obama-era net neutrality regulations. The principle formerly served to ensure that internet service providers would not have the ability to block any content or throttle specific sites. (Given that platforms like Netflix, YouTube, and Twitch account for lots of web traffic, for instance, the fear among net neutrality advocates is that providers may end up charging consumers more money to utilize these services).

Twitch CEO Emmett Shear said in a statement that, “Without [net neutrality], we might not be here today, and our streamers might not be here tomorrow…Because our streamer community  —  many of which are small business owners  —  depend on their viewers having easy access to their channels and reliable quality of service, repealing net neutrality will erode the power of the internet to enable and create these types of jobs.”

A sweeping variety of digital creators — from gaming star Mark ‘Markiplier’ Fischbach to lifestyle vlogger Arden Rose to tech reviewer Marques Brownlee — echoed Shear’s sentiments (below).

While the FCC vote represents a massive blow to net neutrality, Wired reports that many believe the issue will ultimately be decided by Congress, which has the power to overturn the decision — though this may be a long-shot. And for the time being, providers like AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon have all promised not to block or throttle content — which is not to say that the repeal won’t embolden them to expand the ways in which they currently prioritize their own content to subscribers.