The chair of the Federal Communications Committee (FCC) voted to end the 2015 Open Internet Rules on December 14.

The 2015 order provided the US with net neutrality rules that said all internet service providers (ISP) must treat all data the same, without blocking or "throttling" certain data streams.

Detractors say the end to net neutrality will cause an increase of media centralisation, censorship and a rise in costs.But the move will also deepen the "digital divide" between the wealthy and low-income communities, putting these people at a disadvantage in the race towards a digital future.

Research by EveryoneOn, a nonprofit that works to close the digital divide, a term that refers to social and economic inequality in terms of internet access, agrees with Valdez.

Low-income and minority Americans disproportionately find themselves on the wrong side of the digital divide," EveryoneOn's website states.

Internet connectivity is important for alleviating poverty. EveryoneOn's research shows that 94 percent of job recruiters use online means of finding candidates for work.

Aguh explained that minority and lower-income populations in the US experience joblessness at higher rates. With so many jobs recruiting online, the problem of unemployment is made worse.

Read the full article by Creede Newton about net neutrality from Aljazeera