Just when you thought you had heard it all, Verizon lobbyist are now claiming that Net Neutrality should be killed to help Blind, Deaf, and Disabled People. A new plan from the Obama Administation will allow ISPs to create a fast and slow internet lane in which companies have to pay in order to use the fast lane, something that will benefit ISPs, more then 150 tech companies have already signed the Net Neutrality petition against this (among them Facebook, Google, Netflix and many more)
In a desperate attempt to get people to support this new plan, Verizon Lobbyists now claim that disabled people shouldn’t support Net Neutrality and should support this new plan (source MotherJones), since faster internet lanes could help them with their medical equipment and special online services “disabled Americans could get stuck with subpar service as Internet traffic increases”. It is true that many of these services do require a fast internet speed, but Verizons argument is “disingenuous” according to Matt Wood director of Free Press (and many others) since people currently already have fast internet and “companies that serve disabled people would still be able to pay internet service providers for faster service” even if the FCC doesn’t go through with this plan
Groups representing disabled people in America like the National Association of the Deaf, the National Federation of the Blind and the American Association of People with Disabilities are currently not supporting this new plan and CEO of the AAPD says “it is the first time i have heard these specific talking points.” What do you think about Verizon using disabled people to try to convince consumers to support this plan? Let us know!
