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Week 5
In your own words, what exactly does network neutrality mean?
Net neutrality is the concept that the web should be a free place for everyone and anyone to contribute to, without worry of their ISP, or government censoring them or prohibiting their content. Net neutrality reaches past that though, not only to content, but also to means of communication, and how the internet is used. Effectively, it is a commitment to freedom of access to the internet.
Is this something that will really affect you personally, or is this more of a big business/IT issue?
I feel like this issue affects every user on the web, whether they’re just a consumer of digital material, they are a developer of the web, or they are a big business out there on the web.
Please provide a link to a news article about network neutrality and provide a short brief on it and your opinion.
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/12/fcc-order/
In mid-December of last year, the FCC, the Federal Communications Commission, America’s broadcasting watchdog, put forth some regulations for ISPs to abide by. Bringing some conclusion, although not finality to a battle that has been waging for several years now, the FCC set three rules for internet providers to follow. 1) ISPs must be transparent about how they handle network congestion, 2) Prohibits them from blocking certain demanding traffic on wired networks, 3) Outlaws “unreasonable” discrimination on those networks, meaning they can’t put a competing online video service in the slow lane to benefit their own video services. Many parties on both sides of the debate see this as too vanilla of a resolution. ISPs and republicans are up in arms about big business being hampered with regulations, and those fighting for net neutrality say that this is not truly doing anything to help the fight.
Although I think that these regulations are quite harmless to ISPs, and don’t seem to change anything from the way that it’s already being done, I think it’s good for the FCC to put these rules on paper, for them to be seen and recognized. It still worries me that ISPs have plenty of room to make things very difficult for the average user to get internet access if they so choose. Because the nature of the web is a community of development, built for the use of all, and not a closed off, elitist platform with restricted access, it only makes sense to me that access to that community of sharing be as open as the community itself. I’m all for the opening of free wireless for all, and down with the cash hungry ISPs altogether. That’s something I will gladly give my tax dollars to, but alas, I know that this pipe dream is one too crazy, and socialist for our economy.