Which statement reflects an argument against net neutrality?

• A. Those who consume a great deal of bandwidth should pay the same as those who consume very little.
• B. Those who consume a great deal of bandwidth should pay more; this is an argument against net neutrality.
• C. All traffic should be treated equally to ensure fairness.
• D. Net neutrality requires government oversight.

Answer: (B)

Net neutrality is about policies that require internet traffic to be treated equally, without preferential treatment or charging different rates based on who’s using it or what they’re using it for. An argument against this principle would support letting pricing or prioritization depend on usage, because that creates different treatment of data.

The statement that those who consume a great deal of bandwidth should pay more embodies exactly that idea. It endorses tiered pricing where heavy users would subsidize or pay more for faster or prioritized access, which contradicts the idea of equal treatment for all data. By allowing usage-based pricing, you’re essentially introducing discrimination by how much bandwidth someone uses, undermining net neutrality.

The other statements align with supporting net neutrality or are not direct arguments against it. For example, ensuring all traffic is treated equally to maintain fairness is central to neutrality, and requiring government oversight is a governance question rather than a direct challenge to the principle itself.