Imagine a world in which the kinds of websites you could access depend on the company that provided your Internet connection.

Imagine a world where your ISP dictates what internet-based software you can use; a world where you have to pay to use the Internet based on how much bandwidth you expect to use, accruing overage charges if you overstep your limit.

These are just a few of the possible visions of a world without Net neutrality.

What is net neutrality? Net neutrality is basically the way the Internet is now. Whenever we do anything online-watch a movie, download a song, send an e-mail or play an online game-we can do so with the same amount of ease and speed regardless of what program or device we’re using. Our Internet connection remains the same, independent of such factors. In a world without Net neutrality, this all changes.

The scenarios I mentioned earlier aren’t just speculation. In 2007, Comcast, one of the largest cable and Internet providers in the U.S., was disrupting and blocking its customers’ use of the file-sharing program BitTorrent, rendering it almost useless for many users. In 2008, TimeWarner Cable introduced plans to charge customers based on their anticipated bandwidth use.

But, what’s the big deal with that? Shouldn’t an Internet Service Provider be able to block programs and websites they find objectionable? After all, BitTorrent is a program used heavily by those who pirate music and movies, a clearly illegal activity. Paying for the Internet based on your bandwidth use isn’t that much different from how we pay for cell phone use, paying to use minutes every month.

However, the Internet isn’t like anything else. In the last two decades, the Internet has morphed into the most revolutionary method of communication ever.

It has revolutionized commerce, giving us access to products and services we’ve never had access to before, and giving us all a chance to play entrepreneur without the barriers of traditional business expenses. Finally, it has become a great outlet for art and entertainment.

This is all because the Internet is a free and open space that belongs to everyone and no one at the same time, all because we have Net neutrality.

As it stands now, Net neutrality is only the de facto norm, and five separate attempts on the federal level to pass legislation on the issue have failed.

There are, however, reasons to have hope. Last year the Federal Communications Commission declared that Comcast had broken the law when they limited the amount of bandwidth available to some of its customers based on their Internet use. TimeWarner Cable dropped its attempts to restructure its pricing after an overwhelming outcry from customers. And just this past Monday, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced a proposal that would regulate ISPs’ ability to control their customers’ Internet usage.