It’s a victory for free speech. Internet users, whether they’re on laptops, tablets, or phones are the winners.

The Federal Communications Commission voted to approve the strongest ever regulations of net neutrality.

This has been up for debate for some time now, with supporters explaining that net neutrality really comes down to freedom of speech, allowing internet users to access all sites at equal speeds, no matter the content or the internet provider’s affiliation with the sites visited.

In short, internet users are allowed the freedom to decide what they want to see, when they want to see it, and companies can’t pay internet providers to get their content there faster (or slow down the speed of their competitors’ sites).

As FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler explained, “The internet is simply too important to allow broadband providers to be the ones making the rules.”

The ACLU of Illinois agrees.

There’s no place for discrimination or bias in this country, whether in person or online. Without net neutrality rules in place, there is potential for internet providers to have control over what you’re allowed to read or visit online, blocking what they choose and directing you where they want. It wouldn’t be good for businesses and it wouldn’t be good for consumers.  This groundbreaking and consequential decision by the FCC prevents that from happening.

Opponents say a decision like this creates too much government regulation on the internet. Verizon, which is part of the lawsuit that started this investigation and ultimately this decision, says net neutrality would create unnecessary challenges to high speed internet.

That is not going to happen. Net neutrality is already in place, so technology will be unchanged by this decision. The people who use the internet still need it, they will just be able to decide what they want to do and view, as they are entitled to do.

While the FCC and President Obama have declared their support for net neutrality, the fight isn’t over yet. Congress still needs to sign off on this. Republican Senator John Thune of South Dakota, who is chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, is leading the fight against net neutrality, with a hearing set for March 18.

You can make a difference. Reach out. Tell your representatives that net neutrality is vital and that our freedom of speech and freedom for economic growth could be at risk.

The Chicago Sun-Times published an editorial about a measure introduced in the Illinois General Assembly that would place modest regulations on the use of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) by law enforcement. ALPRs are mounted camera devices used in police cars to scan the license plate number of every car in its vicinity. The bill, which the ACLU of Illinois drafted and is sponsored by State Senator Daniel Biss, would create guidelines for their use including how the data collected is stored. While ALPRs are helpful to police in tracking stolen vehicles, they are also powerful surveillance tools that have the potential to infringe on the privacy rights of law-abiding Illinois motorists.

We need a law that meets both the needs of law officers and innocent citizens. We want to catch criminals, but in a free society we can’t forget law-abiding citizens have a right to live their lives without cameras making permanent records of their every move.

Read the entire editorial.