Businesses in the Historic Triangle could be affected Thursday by changes in the way the internet is regulated by the federal government.
On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission is expected to roll-back an Obama-era rule calling for Net Neutrality, the principle that internet service should be open and accessible. The rule curbed discriminatory practices by internet service providers (ISPs) with “internet conduct rules.”
The vote Thursday could have far reaching implications that could fundamentally change how consumers use the internet from Washington state to Williamsburg, Virginia, and beyond.
The Net Neutrality rule explicitly bans blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization of internet services, lessening the ability of an ISP such as Cox Communications, Verizon, Comcast and others from favoring a particular product or website.
Just as cable television providers package channels, the new rule would allow internet providers to sell access to websites in bundles. If a website isn’t part of a consumer’s bundled set of websites, access could be slowed down or blocked all together.
That leaves companies with e-commerce websites like La Tienda, Quirks of Art, and even Edwards Ham, at risk of losing customers and business.
La Tienda owner Tim Harris said his company ships hundreds of thousands of Spanish specialty products to customers in the United States and Canada.
“If our web provider slows our page loading time,” Harris said. “That will seriously impact our business in a negative way.”
The change could limit access to websites of businesses and tourist attractions in Greater Williamsburg, unless a website owner is willing to pay extra money to an internet service provider to be part of a bundle, according to a report from Forbes.
But the rule change could have even further implications for businesses that rely on websites to advertise products or services on the internet.
Local realtors and photographers alike could have their website speeds “throttled” or slowed down if a competitor pays for priority speeds on the internet.
The change could put more power in the hands of companies like real estate database company Zillow or stock-image service Shutterstock.
Shutterstock is an advocate against the proposed changes in Net Neutrality, according to spokeswoman Siobhan Aalders.
“Shutterstock supports a free and open internet where traffic is treated equally by Internet Service Providers,” Aalders wrote in an email.
A spokesman for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation declined to comment for this story. A spokesman for Busch Gardens Williamsburg also declined to comment.
Net Neutrality has also offered speech protections to students and academics at all levels from the College of William and Mary to student journalists at high school newspapers in Greater Williamsburg.
According to a report from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, if the proposal before the FCC continues, it could lead to telecoms companies blocking blog posts or websites the companies disagree with.
For Edwards Ham, the changes are coming as the company continues to look to the future.
The company’s online catalog allows customers to buy breakfast samplers, fresh hickory sausage and smoked hams, but customers might not be able to do that if the rules are changed on Thursday.
Edwards Ham president Sam Edwards III said the new rules would “drive costs.” Those costs would eventually find their way to consumers, he said.
In the long-term, Edwards III said he thinks the new rules could increase competition, at the cost of higher prices.
“I think in the interim it’s going to hurt,” Edwards III said.
How do you feel about your internet? Send an email to [email protected] and let us know.
Updated to include comment from Shutterstock at 6:14 p.m. on 12/13.
