So could you technically have a maverick good guy ISP pop up that has the selling point of not doing any of this shit, even though the law would allow it to? Wouldn't everyone just flock to that ISP then?
Ideally yes, but there are forces at play that ensures this doesn't happen from the current larger ISP's such as Comcast. Monopolies already exist for certain areas, and laying out new pipeline infrastructure/competition will get political pushback, especially from this corrupt administration.
In the last several major cities I have lived(LA and Chicago), I have been forced into a single ISP (either Comcast or ATT). There is literally no other option at my residence, its fucking insane and in many ways completely against the concept of capitalism and free markets.
Ultimately with this administration we are going to get squeezed on everything for major corporate interests.
I agree with the posters mentioning that Net Neutrality is a pretty shitty term for 99% of people. For example, in one of my intro CS classes, many people knew/or claimed to know what Net Neutrality was but very few could elaborate on it. And that's students that are interested in Computer Science...
So true. I actually did a presentation on Net Neutrality a couple years ago(when Netflix filed a complaint with the FCC to get off their ass and stop the ISP blackmailing), like 90% of the audience had no clue what it was before I started. Most never have heard of it, and even among the few that had at least heard the term, barely any of them actually could explain it. It has gained more ground in recent years, but most of the country is oblivious.
Also most of the country will incorrectly blame Netflix for poor quality streaming when Comcast is squeezing out those hefty paytolls to send out those HD and 4K signals across the nation. It's perverse.