The Internet has always been a place of free and open exploration. But, with a new controversial proposal, that all could change.

On Feb. 5, the Federal Communications Commission approved a plan to consider a policy of paid priority on the Internet.

What happens if this plan gets approved on Feb. 26? The proposal, if approved, would permit Internet providers to charge websites high prices for a speedier connection to their sites. This would mean that in order for Internet users to view a website in high-quality and with fast connection, the site would have to pay potentially large amounts of money to an Internet provider, such as Comcast or Verizon.

Many worry that this new plan will ruin web neutrality. The Internet has always been a place to discover new ideas and express oneself, but with Internet providers favoring the sites that pay bigger bucks, it will be much harder to access the vast variety of information the Internet holds.

This new policy will not only affect website owner and Internet providers, but all Internet users. If the policy is approved, users could potentially have a slowed down connection or be blocked from viewing certain websites. In turn, this could cause established websites such as Hulu or Netflix to raise their monthly subscription fees to users in order to compensate for the connection prices.

The new paid priority plan has many critics, but the final decision on the policy will be chosen by the FCC on Feb. 26.