Net neutrality is not easy to talk about with anyone who doesn’t understand the implications, so the host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight , John Oliver, made it more interesting. By using the style of internet trolls, arguably the most annoying people you will ever encounter online, Oliver explains the concept and makes it hilarious.
John begins the show by telling us that the top story is about the internet, also known as the “electronic cat database.” It is well known that something you’ll probably never escape on the internet is pictures and videos of cats, such as the recent “ Jenga Cat ,” and it’s not hard to see why. They’re adorable and often playful in hilarious ways, but that’s going off topic.
Mr. Oliver continues by stating how the internet has made it so much easier to shop for weird things like coyote urine. Then he moves on to mention how just saying “net neutrality” will instantly bore most people:
“The only two words that promise more boredom in the English language are ‘featuring Sting’.”
After a rant about how boring the concept sounds, John Oliver explains how those words refer to the most important aspect of the internet and how it’s accessed. It means that all data should be treated equally, instead of charging extra to access individual sites with full bandwidth. Netflix shouldn’t charge you extra just because Comcast wants you to stare at a “buffering” screen.
Host John Oliver Explains Net Neutrality on ‘Last Week Tonight’ http://t.co/wuM23rYUs0
— Laughing Squid (@LaughingSquid) June 2, 2014
Net neutrality also means that start-up websites have the same chance to succeed as established ones. Otherwise, as Mr. Oliver points out, Facebook wouldn’t have replaced MySpace, which replaced Friendster, which itself replaced “actually having any friends.” You would literally have to pay a bunch of major corporations just to get your own website noticed if this important aspect of the internet is eliminated.
The scariest part of the net neutrality issue is that a top lobbyist for cable companies has now been appointed as a member of the FCC. As hilarious as John Oliver is in his explanation, he certainly makes a valid and concise point.
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