Perfect portrayal of Net Neutrality

         This satirical cartoon portrays and ridicules the principles of net neutrality. These principles, which were protected by law as of 2010 due to the FCC's net neutrality rules, states that all websites and consumers of the internet should receive an equal service speed and freedom of usage. However as of January 14, when a court of law stated the FCC did not have jurisdiction to impose its net neutrality rules on internet service providers, net neutrality has been hanging by a string, ready to be cut by large Internet providers such as AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon. Under the new rules of net neutrality proposed by the FCC, these large Internet Service Providers would be able to charge large content providers such as Netflix and Facebook extra fees for "fast lanes;" meaning their users would enjoy a much faster service speed than would users of small independent sites. As portrayed in the cartoon, the smiling player clad in purple shorts represents large content providers who could afford these fast lane services, while the disadvantaged player clad in blue shorts represents all the small, independent websites and content providers who would not be able to afford the preference. The lowered section of the court in which the blue player stands represents the huge disadvantage that the less resourceful websites face against the giant content providers who can afford the fast lane services; consequently; the absence of a visible way for the blue player to get out of the "ditch" mirrors the inability of these small websites to ever overcome these limitations since by being stuck on the slow lane they would be unable to turn the profit to afford the fast lane services. The confident and smug look of the purple player reflects the fast lane companies' confidence that they will not be defeated. The blue player's side of the court being lowered instead of the purple player's side being elevated, reflects that the net neutrality laws, while helping big content providers, would have a much higher degree of influence in destroying small websites. Uncle Sam can also be seen leaning over the lowered side of the court, representing the U.S. government's claim that under these rules the net is "still neutral" despite this obviously not being the case. This artist's portrayal of the effects of the net neutrality rules is both effective and humorous, portraying the situation in a way that all of the American public can relate to, after all, anyone who saw themselves in the position of the blue player would indubitably feel cheated.