Net neutrality advocates just needed a trip to Six Flags
+ READ ARTICLEStephen Colbert has finally figured out a way to make net neutrality interesting and it only required a roller coaster.
On Wednesday, a U.S. court upheld government rules that require Internet providers to treat all content equally in terms of speed. The ruling means that Internet service providers can’t block or slow down users’ access to, say, streaming video services just because they use a lot of bandwidth and what Colbert called, “blah blah blah.” The ruling is considered a big win for net neutrality, so-called open Internet advocates are thrilled. If your eyes have glazed over while reading the last few sentences, you’re not alone.
On The Late Show, Colbert decided to do his part for Internet activism and make the net neutrality conversation exciting. “[It] is important, but super boring to talk about,” said Colbert, “But I really wanted to talk about it.” To make it less dull, Colbert took Columbia University Law Professor Tim Wu, who coined the term “net neutrality” to Six Flags to talk about the concept on the Nitro roller coaster. Watch their conversation above.