China’s ability to wiggle out of its responsibilities as host of the 2008 Olympic Games is amazing, yet predictable. When China bid to host the 2008 summer games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) attached stipulations to the agreement because of China’s running history of human rights violations and a censored press. Before China was awarded the 2008 Olympics, there were fears by broadcasters and journalists that they would not enjoy the same press freedoms that they have had at past Olympics; as we now see, those suspicions were not unfounded. China did not keep its word and no one, including the IOC or any foreign government, are holding them accountable. China has done nothing to advance human rights, has jailed foreign and domestic reporters, applied strict visa rules to foreigners who would like to visit the country to watch the Olympic Games, and is now censoring the foreign press.

Although the president of the IOC assured critics that Chinese authorities have promised “absolutely no censorship on the Internet” for the media covering the Olympic Games, this is far from the case. Current reports from Beijing state that journalists are being blocked from accessing many different websites. Even worse, certain members of the IOC actually made deals with the Chinese government to allow blocking of government “sensitive” websites.

The Chinese government’s strict control over the nation’s Internet and its ability to block any and all sites deemed “sensitive” to security makes me all the more grateful to the concept and America’s adherence (thus far) to Net Neutrality. Network Neutrality is the principle that the Internet should remain free and open to all. ISPs cannot restrict or discriminate against content or websites, interfere with communication streams or network speeds, or disallow someone from using equipment or applications that the user deems fit

Because Network Neutrality is so vital for democracies, I fully support the FCC’s decision to rule against Comcast for breaking Net Neutrality principles by blocking online content.