Colin Nishi
INFO-I202
Assignment #3
Net Neutrality’s Role in The Open Internet The World Wide Web was first created by Tim Berners-Lee in 1990, under the philosophy that it would begin as, and remain, an “open and free” platform of expression. It was believed that a neutral [open] web could promote innovation and development of technologies in an environment where individuals’ speech and collaboration overpowered large corporations. Recently, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have jeopardized the open nature of the web by opposing net neutrality, the idea that “all data on the internet should be treated equally by corporations, such as internet service providers, and governments, regardless of content, user, platform, application or device.”
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As William Fisher said in Freedom and Expression on the Internet, “Content-based governmental restrictions on speech are unconstitutional unless they advance a "compelling state interest." (Fisher) This states that the constitution prohibits the government from censoring your speech [or press] unless it’s in violation with the law. Today, we are still able to post anything, anytime, anywhere, without consequence assuming its legal. On February 26, the “FCC voted on the issue of Net neutrality passing chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal in a 3-2 vote.” (Gokey) This landmark decision ended the net neutrality debate by eliminating Internet fast lanes and paid prioritization. In addition the new act gave no power to the ISPs, which would have otherwise created monopolies, economic stagnation and lack of …show more content…
(2015, March 6). Despite victory, net-neutrality supporters have long fight ahead, says Rutgers prof. Retrieved July 14, 2015, from http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2015/03/despite_victory_net_neutrality_war_long_from_over.html
Extra Credits - Net Neutrality - What a Closed Internet Means. (2014, April 2). Retrieved July 14, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQtiIazfoQM
Fisher, W. (2001, June 14). Freedom of Expression on the Internet. Retrieved July 14, 2015, from http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/ilaw/Speech/
Gokey, M. (2015, May 4). FCC Net neutrality update: U.S. Telecoms say reclassification will be ‘crushing’ to industry. Retrieved July 14, 2015, from http://www.digitaltrends.com/web/fcc-reclassify-broadband-title-ii-explained/
Net Neutrality Definition | Investopedia. (2014, June 13). Retrieved July 14, 2015, from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/net-neutrality.asp
Niles, R. (n.d.). Net Neutrality: Toward a Stupid Internet - The Objective Standard. Retrieved July 14, 2015, from
The internet is a resource with ever expanding content and applications for everyone to use however, net neutrality rules on the free use of internet remains a debated topic. The “Point/Counterpoint: Network Neutrality Nuances” presents Barbara van Schewick’s supportive argument on the applications of net neutrality rules, and the consequences of failing to do so. Schewick’s engaging justifications are well researched with arguments containing significant amounts of examples, strong and simplistic diction to reach her audience, and clean and smooth transitions to move between ideas.
At the end of December in 2017 the big subject was about Net Neutrality and whether or not the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would be able to repeal it or not. The FCC is an independent branch of the US government and if they repealed Net Neutrality, they and big 'name brand' service providers would be able to charge the American body for internet and would be able to completely monitor and slow certain sites. When confronted about much of the backlash from the public about the repeal, Ajit Pai (the chairmen of the FCC) claimed that 7.5 million of the complaints he received were from a single scammer.
In the IEEE CTN issue of June 2014, It was noted that “evolution and technological innovation in communication systems, digital media, and user behavior may challenge Net Neutrality principles and question if or how Net Neutrality can be sustained in a new word of data-hungry applications such as on-demand video, online gaming, and music streaming” (IEEE, 2014). In the same CTN issue, specific Net Neutrality principles included, among others, no connection blocking, bandwidth transparency, universal connectivity, and best effort
But what exactly is Net neutrality? Net neutrality means cable companies such as Time Warner Cable and Verizon cannot charge more for faster internet speeds. Which means everybody who uses the internet will have the same speed. Hence the word neutrality. Verizon communication sued the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) saying that they do not have jurisdiction over that subject and limiting speeds is a violation of the First Amendment. "The FCC says Net neutrality rules are designed to preserve the internet as an open platform enabling consumer Choice, freedom of expression, and end-user control, competition, and the freedom to innovate without permission." This case went to the US court of appeals for the DC circuit. The courts ruled in favor of a Verizon. The reasoning for the decision is that “FCC has no authority to apply common-carrier obligation like non-discrimination and no-blocking rules to broadband providers.” I agree with this decision. The reason is that the internet should not be like electricity. If you plug your phone into the wall to charge. It's going to have the same amount of current as someone else charging their phone. But what happens if I want to charge my phone faster? I can’t because electricity is neutral. But when I go on the internet and I see it is slow. What happens if I want to make it faster? With Net neutrality I could not make it faster. I want the option to make my internet faster. And what happens to large corporations where internet speed is essential to stay in business? The fact of the matter is that the FCC does not have jurisdiction over this matter. Net neutrality should never be passed. It will only hurt the consumer. In addition, the FCC approved of a $9.25 monthly charge to help low-income families connect to the internet. Three out of the five Commissioners voted for the subsidy plan. This approval is one part of the reform of the fund
In the above article and video, the concept of the FCC voting to cease net neutrality in the upcoming month is discussed. The Federal Communications Commission is the independent branch of the U.S. government, which helps regulate communications via radio, television, and internet. Currently, the FCC has laws and rules set in place governing the existence of a “net neutrality”. New neutrality, also called the Open Internet” is essentially what allows all United States citizens to view and post whatever they please online, without it being blocked or limited by a third party or network provider. However, on December 14th the FCC will be voting on whether or not to “rollback” net neutrality, with chairman Ajit Pai at the helm of the limited internet
On December 14th, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote to replace current rules enforcing net neutrality. Nothing short of an extinction-level event will prevent it. But before we’re resigned to fate, know that while the battle for net neutrality at the FCC may have been lost, the war isn’t even close to being over which sounds kinda scary. Really, the net neutrality fight is simply migrating to a different theater, namely, The US Courts of Appeals. And excluding the possibility of a Supreme Court challenge, the outcome could very well drag on for another year and a half or more.
The major search engine, Google, would not exist without net neutrality. With innovation, comes competition. Competition is important in a free society. In “Net Neutrality: A Victory for Digital Innovation” by David Richards explains the notion of good competition on the web. He states that the internet “embodies” the “ethos of a competitive environment,” an environment that holds standards and quality over
The internet is an immense part of everyone’s lives, whether it’s used for work, school, or entertainment and it’s at risk. The federal communications commission (FCC) is planning to end net neutrality, which is a big deal. Net neutrality or open internet is the principle of having free, equal access to the internet, without having to pay or have internet service providers blocking and slowing down websites. For many years, people have been fighting to keep the internet free, and big companies and the FCC have been fighting back. Fighting to keep net neutrality has never been more important than now because the vote to end net neutrality is on December. 14. Fighting to keep net neutrality is important because it allows free access to information, free speech and thought, and it helps businesses.
Throughout the last decade, the idea of Net Neutrality has been the topic of many debates. Net Neutrality is the idea that Internet service providers should not be allowed to block their users from any content regardless of its source. The Debate is still continuing in 2017 with the F.C.C planning to repeal Net Neutrality and allow internet providers to completely regulate what their users can see and charge the users extra for “luxuries” such as social media, messaging, email, and music. There are two sides of this argument, one side believes that Net Neutrality should be taken away, while others believe that it is unfair for the Internet providers to have the right to take away the access to any content. Internet providers should not be allowed to control what content one can view when surfing the internet.
Net neutrality: “the concept that broadband Internet service providers should provide nondiscriminatory access to Internet content, platforms, etc., and should not manipulate the transfer of data regardless of its source or destination.”
Net Neutrality is the principle that Internet users should be able to access any web content or use any application without restriction or limitation from their internet service provider [1]. Net neutrality can be further broken down into four core concepts as described by Daniel J. Weitzners, non-discriminatory routing of packets, user control choice over service levels, ability to create and use new services and protocols without approval of network operators and nondiscriminatory peering of backbone network [1]. A tiered internet service is a structure that allows user to choose and pay for the amount of bandwidth that best suits their need [2].
The emergence of the Internet and the World Wide Web brought upon a medium of communication with a range of opportunities for the world. However, this medium is, in due course, subject to the control of a few major companies. The enigma of information flow is the central concern of net neutrality. Consumers, competition and network owners would benefit directly from the regulation of network neutrality because it would provide a positive impact to those parties as well as provide equality.
The concept of network neutrality (more commonly referred to as net neutrality) has been a fixture of debates over United States telecommunications policy throughout the first decade of the twenty-first century. Based upon the principle that internet access should not be altered or restricted by the Internet Service Provider (ISP) one chooses to use, it has come to represent the hopes of those who believe that the internet still has the potential to radically transform the way in which we interact with both people and information, in the face of the commercial interests of ISPs, who argue that in order to sustain a competitive marketplace for internet provision, they must be allowed to differentiate their services. Whilst this debate has
The dilemma between customer’s and ISP’s perspectives on Internet speeds is known as the concept of Net Neutrality. Kenneth Laudon, a professor at New York University, defines Net
Net Neutrality is an argument that has been highly debated for years, but in the past several months it has come back contentious as ever. To give a bit of background, you should know that the FCC is an acronym for the Federal Communications Commission. It is a government committee that watches over both interstate and international communications by all communications such as radio, television, wire, satellite,