Net Neutrality
I know what you’re thinking: if only there was a way to get the government involved in one more aspect of our collective lives, the world would be so much better off. Whether you’re a Palin-leaning right winger or a lefty liberal, most of us agree that government involvement is getting a little out of hand, and Big Brother’s next project has become the internet, although this one originated with the FCC.
Rules involving “net neutrality” have been voted on, but the full rules and details haven’t been revealed. It’s a confusing topic because no one is sure who it’s benefiting or protecting, but its original intent was to protect the user. It seems that the new rules will prohibit large providers from blocking legal Web use. Think of net neutrality in these terms: a big player like Comcast might control a large market, and with a merger in place with Universal and NBC, perhaps they might want to block Comcast internet users from accessing the AT&T Uverse website (a Comcast competitor), or maybe even block ABC.com so NBC has less online competition. Another example: suppose Comcast acquires a small tech company (TechWidget) with a new web browser and decides to make all internet content to Comcast subscribers only viewable on TechWidget’s browser. The new rules would prevent that. It all seems like a stretch, but the rules are supposed to prevent any future problems like these from happening.
What’s the downside then? There are many loopholes and vague explanations left for interpretation which could cause more harm than good. Additionally, wireless providers don’t seem to be as prohibited as typical broadband providers, so if Verizon wants to block Bing on your Verizon phone because some Verizon VP is anti-Microsoft, it looks like they can still do that.
In the present, the new rules shouldn’t affect your surfing potential, but as technology keeps leaning toward smartphones and wireless communication, you might wish there were a few more details in the rules. Speaking of details, if you want more information on net neutrality, check out the links below and read on!
Read on:
NYTimes.com – F.C.C. Is Set to Regulate Net Access
WSJ.com – Most of the Internet Grumbles About FCC Net Neutrality Rules
Wikipedia – Network neutrality
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment