A world without net neutrality is a world with less innovation

At Pluralsight, we fundamentally believe that the more technology we can bring into the world, the more progress we’ll create for humankind. That’s what drives us every day, as we deliver a technology learning platform that helps individuals and businesses keep up with fast pace of change and innovate. 

And we can’t continue to have the same impact without a free and open internet. 

Today marks the “Internet-wide Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality.” We’re proud to join other leading companies in protest against the FCC’s potential actions, which would turn the internet into an uneven playing field. In 2015, the FCC voted to establish regulations on Internet Service Providers around blocking, throttling and paid prioritization. But now the FCC is considering a repeal of these rules. 

Why does net neutrality matter? 

Without net neutrality regulations, cable companies and Internet Service Providers may be able to charge companies to get their content out in a new "fast lane,” avoiding traffic throttling that causes buffering and slower loading times. But if this paid prioritization creates “fast lanes,” who gets stuck in the “slow lanes”?

Imagine how this new world could stifle innovation and progress. Startups that can't afford the "fast lanes" will have a harder time gaining market share. Worse yet, the barriers to entry might be so vast that the next big idea that could change the world will never see the light of day. 

Think of it this way: Would Netflix be worth $70 billion today if the same cable companies it was disrupting controlled how fast (or slow) its content streamed for its customers? We need to protect a marketplace where any good idea has a chance. 

Disruption and competition is what fuels progress. Pluralsight accelerates this disruption by connecting as many people as possible to knowledge from the world’s leading technology experts, so they can create the future. This innovation depends on those people having a free and open internet to pursue their ideas.

Join the fight for an open internet

Today, the internet is a powerful platform for innovation because it doesn’t discriminate. No other invention has so drastically changed how we communicate, work, live, play and learn. If you want to keep the internet a place of progress, I urge you to learn more about net neutrality and take action now.