HypersomniacLive: Not really:

Kroes' Unacceptable Anti-Net Neutrality Law Rushed Despite Criticisms
Net Neutrality: Dangerous Loopholes Remain After Key Vote by Lead EU Parliament Committee
Will Member States Defend Net Neutrality, in Line with the European Parliament?

Sabin_Stargem: There are three big issues on hand: Regulatory capture, natural monopoly, and vertical integration.

Regulatory capture is when governing bodies like the Food & Drug Administration are funded or occupied by people who have a vested interest in the well-being of corporations...at the expense of the public's safety and prosperity. The current head of the FCC is Thomas Wheeler, who used to work for one of the cable companies that the FCC is supposed to regulate.

The other problem is natural monopoly. It is extremely expensive to lay down the physical infrastructure for delivering data. This means that it is a difficult, time-consuming effort that won't be easily repaid. Because there are very few companies that can do this, those companies get to determine the location and quality of service. Because there is no line-sharing allowed, these companies can monopolize a region, and charge huge prices.

With vertical integration, conglomerates like Time-Warner have begun to slow down or block services like Netflix, because Netflix is a competitor to Warner Brother's movie service. This means that you can easily access and purchase media related to Time-Warner, but companies outside of their organization would be penalized for trying to participate in the market. As a consumer, this will eventually mean that your choices will be made by Time-Warner, as you only have access to their offerings.

In short, a lack of competition, regulation, and a powerful natural monopoly will result in walled gardens. You will only be able to buy products from ONE provider, that reflects the prices and beliefs of that provider.

ironhide0: I'd not heard of this until I read this thread. I visited the site but I don't really understand what's going on. Are there no smaller providers such as co-ops with different policies?

StickOfPlywood: Didn't know that was going on! Thanks for sharing!