RIP Net Neutrality: What This Means for Real Estate

Internet critics are in an uproar due to a recent decision by a federal appeals court that appears to have struck down the FCC's previous Open Internet Order. The argument was over free and open communication on the web and trying to prevent Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from playing favorites among websites. For instance, awarding faster speeds to sites that pay a special fee. Or, as consumer groups fear, slowing or blocking sites and services that compete with favored affiliates.

I sat down with Tyler Olmsted, our frontend production manager, to discuss what it all means and how this decision will impact the real estate industry.

AZ: Can you please explain the concept of "net neutrality" in more detail?

TO: The concept of net neutrality is that all services on the net are treated equally. For example, a mom and pop shop that's been selling wood in the local community for 20 years would be treated the same as larger companies like Lowes that sell the same products. This gives healthy competition for small businesses to compete with large scale businesses on the internet.

Another great example of this is Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated site started by a couple of guys out of their basements. It now gets more traffic than CNN or any of the major news outlets. These types of websites (meaning user generated sites) would be less possible when net neutrality is dead.

Net neutrality is important because it creates competition, prevents unfair pricing, promotes innovative ideas and helps drive business. Without it, control of messaging on the internet will be in the hands of larger corporations.