It doesn’t help that people who tend to be united in their reaction — everyone from techno-libertarians to VCs – seem divided about the gutting of the FCC’s net neutrality rules this week.

While it’s true the issues around net neutrality aren’t black and white, we’ve got a rundown of three risks and unintended consequences of the recent ruling you should be aware of, regardless of the nuances or your politics.

But first, you need to know at least this much: Simply put, net neutrality is the principle (it never was a law) that the pipes carrying our information online should be “dumb” — just like our phone lines.