I think the main thing people are concerned with is the simple fact that with more freedom comes more opportunities to take advantage of it in egregious ways.
Yes, Net Neutrality offers more freedom. Freedom to set different prices for Internet, freedom to offer more for less, and freedom for small, startup ISP's to offer a bigger variety of service to small, out-of-the-way areas.
The biggest issues people have with Net Neutrality are:
- It's a change. People don't like change.
- Trust. How can we know people won't try to take advantage of it?
Ironically enough, Ajit Pai not listening to thousands upon thousands of people not wanting Net Neutrality is a good example of what could happen if one puts their trust in what are supposed to be higher powers/higher authority. Whether you are for or against Net Neutrality, it's clear to see that the PR surrounding it was handled very poorly. They put Ajin Pai's dumb mug over a green screen holding a fidget spinner. Just that alone shows how badly they handled it.
But back to my point. Ajit Pai, instead of trying to explain himself or explain what Net Neutrality was in a clear, concise manner easy for all to understand, was very vague and never really explained why it was such a good idea to remove it. Instead he mocked those who said "no" in a very clear, public, scathing manner and never once offered any counterpoints.
Not only was this handled poorly, it did little to quell the public's lack of trust in a higher authority. It reaffirmed that people higher than them cannot be trusted, and counterintuitively convinced them further that the removal of Net Neutrality is bad.
I'm glad you discussed the various points regarding Net Neutrality and cleared things up, because so far, not many people have tried to do this properly. I, personally, am ambivalent toward the subject, mostly because I'm still unsure what will come of removing it. I think this unknown quantity is what scares most people- the fear of the unknown, of change, is very strong in most.
I think companies won't risk losing hundreds of customers by throttling certain sites to an extent, and I certainly don't think the internet is going to be offered in packages. That's simply paranoia and overthinking.
But I also think that the reintroduction of stiff competition in the market will actually potentially destroy small startups, as big companies will more easily be able to afford lowering their prices than smaller companies who have little to their name.
RE: Analysing Net Neutrality: Good Riddance