The degree to which your Internet Service Provider or ISP controls your networking is probably more than you realize. The term Net Neutrality is the principle that your ISPs should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favoring or blocking particular products or websites.
To understand the actions of these ISPs I think it helps to use a highway analogy. Companies like AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, or other cable companies provide Internet access but often times partition this access into fast lanes and slower lanes. So when you try to download content from sources like Netflix or Hulu these ISPs get to determine how fast these services reach you.
The National Urban League President Marc Morial is just one of the many that have expressed his opposition to new Net Neutrality proposals made by the FCC (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-aaron/why-is-the-national-urban_b_6066884.html -- here is a link to a Huffington Post blog on the matter). The problem is that allowing ISPs to control coverage and internet speeds allows for discriminatory practices. This is a new era of discrimination: online discrimination.
Why does this matter? It matters for one reason because companies like Netflix are actually competitors of companies like Comcast battling for the viewership of their audience. Secondly, certain companies can pay these ISPs so that their service reaches you faster.
The impact to the individual is the dreaded...
...loading screen and obviously because slow connection times turn off consumers from products. But the broader impact however is that these practices, while determined legal by the FCC, are disadvantageous to the interests of smaller companies who cannot afford to pay the Internet tolls of these cable companies.
...loading screen and obviously because slow connection times turn off consumers from products. But the broader impact however is that these practices, while determined legal by the FCC, are disadvantageous to the interests of smaller companies who cannot afford to pay the Internet tolls of these cable companies.
The Internet in all its wonder is amazing because it is a platform for self expression unlike any seen before in history. The reason this all works though is because of the freedom and accessibility of the Internet. But when the Internet is no longer free and accessible it is no longer what it is meant to be.
The Huffington Post blog also discusses how the loss of real Net Neutrality will make it harder for colored communities and marginalized groups to express themselves. These tend to the be smaller content producers that can't compete in a world dominated by cable companies and their interests.
Yet, at the same time there are organizations such as the National Urban League that works in a close philanthropic relationship with large ISPs. So, now the debate gets even murkier when there are certain civil rights groups that oppose possible Net Neutrality rules.
In the larger picture of things, it seems that individuals like Morial support the idea of open Internet as a concept but still want to empower ISPs to control and discriminate online. This is simply a solution that won't work. Reducing ISPs to “common carriers” meaning they have to serve the public indiscriminately is the only way to ensure a future of real Net Neutrality.
Here is also a video that also helps understand Net Neutrality -- http://youtu.be/2psly3euy78.
Hi Nish - I have a couple of questions I was hoping that you could answer. What does the government do to make sure that all information flows are treated the same on the internet? Do other countries have similar systems of administering the internet? Do you believe that internet is a public utility?
ReplyDeleteYou raise some interesting points. In this day and age, technology affects every part of our life, from social interactions to work-related things. Everything we do depends on the internet in some way, shape or form. Privileging certain companies over others could end up creating an internet monopoly, discouraging equal access.
Hi Avi - to answer your first question, there is not much that government currently does to regulate this flow and that is where the problem lies. These Internet Service Providers or ISPs are treated like any other business with the ability to control the distribution of their service/product. But I do think that in our modern day world that the Internet is essentially a public utility because as you mentioned it used for so many aspects of life. I think an appropriate albeit not perfect example is how ComEd delivers our electricity but they don't just decide to slow the flow or cut the flow to suit their own needs. I mean if they did that then ComEd would control the access that ISPs have to their consumers. In the same fashion, ISPs control other businesses, companies, and service providers by controlling their access.
ReplyDeleteAnswering your second question about other countries, I know that the European Union has anti-discriminatory laws regarding the Internet that keep companies in check. Of course, I think it is still important to remember that the U.S. is still better off than a lot of places in the world where Internet access is extremely limited or sanctioned.