As the Federal Communications Commission gets primed to vote on proposed net neutrality laws next month, The Daily Orange Editorial Board believes the Internet should be a level playing field for all users.

In his State of the Union Address last week, President Barack Obama reiterated his stance on net neutrality, saying “I intend to protect a free and open Internet, extend its reach to every classroom and every community and help folks build the fastest networks, so that the next generation of digital innovators and entrepreneurs have the platform to keep reshaping our world.”

As a result of the landmark case, Verizon Communications Inc. v. FCC, however, this time last year the “free and open Internet” the president spoke of was severely altered. The U.S. District Court of Appeals ruled that the FCC did not have the right to regulate broadband providers. This ruling gave ISPs the ability to choose which sites received better download speeds.

Most notably, Netflix’s download speeds had a severe drop during negotiations of its contract with Comcast. This displeased many users, including college students, and is an example of why net neutrality is important.

The FCC opened up a public forum, which began in May 2014 for comments on these proposed changes, and there were more than 4 million responses. Not only were Internet users upset that ISPs were trying to adopt a two-tier system to provide certain content at faster speeds than others, but major web companies also voiced their concerns as well. Facebook, Google, Netflix and Amazon all came out in support of net neutrality.

Net neutrality will keep the Internet equal for all users. If the FCC does not follow Obama’s suggestion to reclassify broadband service to uphold the values of net neutrality, ISPs will have too much power. Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, Time Warner Cable and the like will make streaming services pay a premium for faster Internet speeds. It isn’t fair that the ISPs could possibly charge users access to content and content-makers access to the users. Not only will the ISPs be making money hand over fist, they will also permanently damage the landscape of the Internet.

Net neutrality will encourage competition and give users the power to choose what services will succeed. Since its genesis the Internet has been open for all. And it should continue to be this way.