Burger King prank explains exactly what net neutrality means for you
"You can't give me the sandwich but its ready? Oh my god, this is the worst thing I've heard of."
As the online world continues to fume with anger about the FCC's decision to repeal net neutrality, Burger King has swooped in to show consumers just what it will mean for them.
In a hilarious three-minute clip, customers visiting a Burger King in the United States were asked whether they wanted a Whopper for $4.99 at "slow Mbps", $12.99 for "fast mbps" or $25.99 for "hyperfast mbps". Nearly every customer opted for the cheapest one and were told to wait for a long time, despite the food being ready.
The manager at the Burger King clarifies that Mbps "of course stands for Making Burgers Per Second."
After a lengthy wait, one customer approaches the staff to ask what has happened to his order. He is told he purchased the slow access pass. "So if want a Whopper right now, we have to pay $26?" a different customer asked.
"The sandwich is ready, I'm just not allowed to actually give it you," the manager tells a customer. "You can't give me the sandwich but its ready? Oh my god, this is the worst thing I've heard of," the customer replies.
"Come on guys, I want a burger man. This is a bad dream right now, I just want a f*****g burger brother, a burger," another customer said to the staff.
After being told about the prank, people were quick to understand and condemn the decision to repeal net neutrality. "I felt like I was being taken advantage of," one customer said. "Just as a customer coming in to get their food, it felt like a power move."
On 14 December, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to undo the Obama-era rules that have been in place since 2015. It also forbid states putting anything similar in place.
Net neutrality is the principle that internet providers treat all web traffic equally, and it's pretty much how the internet has worked since its creation.
But regulators, consumer advocates and internet companies were concerned about what broadband companies could do with their power as the pathway to the internet — blocking or slowing down apps that rival their own services, for example.
