As a child of the early 2000s, I can’t recall a time that I didn’t recognize the soft click emitted from an unlocked iPhone or the primary colors of the Google logo. I learned how to type in fourth grade during Computer Lab, countless early mornings spent pecking at keys with squinted eyes. I discovered how the search bar contained the answers to all of the questions I could bother imagining–or the Sparknotes, at least. Exploring an open Internet was the standard, not the exception.

The next generation may not be so lucky.

Net neutrality is the principle that guarantees equal accessibility to the Internet by prohibiting service providers and governments from treating data unfairly. These protections were the result of a call to action from Internet users who wanted to prevent corporations from enacting discriminatory practices by enacting straightforward and just rules. On December 14, these protections for net neutrality established in 2015 were repealed in a 3-2 vote by the Federal Communications Commission.

Supporters of the vote spearheaded by F.C.C. chairman Ajit Pai argue that the new ruling will allow service providers to offer a more diverse set of options for consumers. They’re not wrong. Thanks to anti-net neutrality efforts, companies will be able to roll out a whole new range of expensive and restrictive services.

The primary argument for repealing net neutrality centers around the notion that ending the “micromanaging [of] the Internet” by decreasing regulation will foster healthy competition among services providers like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon. In short, customers should have a variety of plans to choose from at a reasonable price.

But without net neutrality, these major companies will sideline small businesses and startups by slowing down their content or blocking their websites. Instead of empowering consumers, repealing net neutrality effectively eliminates competition and quashes job growth.

Service providers can censor social and political movements by suppressing information, further marginalizing voices that have taken advantage of the opportunities for awareness and communication presented by social media.

Given the incredible activism our community has demonstrated, we should be concerned–Black Lives Matter and Me Too began as hashtags while the Women’s March on Washington created Facebook events to spread the word.

Protecting net neutrality is critical to preventing businesses from putting a price tag on our freedom of speech and ensuring that socioeconomic inequality does not prevent people from engaging with their peers through the most powerful tool of the 21st Century.

In a video published by the Daily Caller, Pai promoted the F.C.C.’s decision by taking selfies with a puppy and wearing Eclipse glasses while waving a fidget spinner and Nerf gun. Titled “7 Things You Can Still Do on the Internet After Net Neutrality,” the video buries the true consequences of repealing net neutrality by attempting to persuade Internet users that their outrage should begin and end with binge watching “Game of Thrones.”

At Parker, we give standing ovations to student activists, enroll in Social Entrepreneurship classes, and Instagram clever protest signs. Whether you want to march or be a mogul, a future in which startups are killed and disenfranchisement expanded is no longer a scary hypothetical.

While the Internet was “free” prior to the Obama administration’s mission to secure net neutrality, reclassifying broadband as a utility allowed it to be protected under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. By signing net neutrality into law, the government sent a strong message to service providers that placed protecting the freedom of the people over commercial freedom.

That message has been overturned, and it’s unacceptable.

On January 9, Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri signed Senator Ed Markey’s resolution to restore the Open Internet Order under the Congressional Review Act as the 30th co-sponsor. We need to hold local politicians accountable for how they cast their ballot.

You can do this by writing to Illinois State Senators Tammy Duckworth and Mark Kirk or any of the eighteen politicians that represent Illinois in the House of Representatives. When writing, be respectful, factual, and clear. Remind them that net neutrality is not a partisan issue–according to the University of Maryland’s Program for Public Consultation, 89% of Democrats and 75% of Republicans support Obama-era regulations.

Don’t be neutral about net neutrality–your convenience and communication depend on it.