Citation

Early J, Bustillos D. Glob. Health Promot. 2018; ePub(ePub): 1757975918785354.

Affiliation

School of Nursing and Health Studies. University of Washington Bothell, Bothell, Washington, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, International Union for Health Promotion and Education, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1757975918785354

PMID

30160602

Abstract

In the United States of America, the Federal Communications Commission's repeal of the popular Open Internet Order (a.k.a 'net neutrality') has yielded pointed criticism from many different sectors, but it has yet to be examined for its potential effect on the public's health. In this commentary, we focus on the health implications of this policy change, considering expert opinion on the subject, past history, and global perspectives. We argue that the repeal of net neutrality has the potential to compromise health education and promotion efforts by widening the 'digital divide', thereby impairing health literacy and exacerbating health inequities. By negatively affecting people's ability to access, understand, and use unbiased, evidence-based health information to improve and maintain their health, the repeal of net neutrality may hinder the World Health Organization's vision of ' Health for All' by dismantling public protections in the name of corporate profit.

Language: en

Keywords

Internet; digital equity; health equity; health literacy; health promotion; net neutrality; population health