The Issue of Net Neutrality

Net neutrality is a principle that allows users to do whatever they want while on the Internet. Many phone and cable companies are trying to eliminate net neutrality because they argue it will provide a safer and more controlled online experience while others argue that it takes away from people’s freedom which does more harm than good in a democratic society.

Companies such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast, all leading telephone and cable providers, are in favor of getting rid of net neutrality and creating stricter rules when accessing websites. An obvious reason as to why companies would be against net neutrality is because of the profit they will make. They wish to implement a system that makes people have to pay in order to have faster search engines and downloads. If companies can control what we can and cannot access on the Internet, this means that the telephone and cable companies could block off websites from their competitors to eliminate the competition. This distracts people from what the Internet was originally supposed to be. When the Internet was created, it was meant to assist everyone not just the wealthy.

The term “gatekeeper” was coined by social psychologist Kurt Lewin in 1947. The theory of gatekeeping described the act of controlling the information that is let out to the public, much like a sheep herder controls the actions of sheep. If companies control what we know and what we do not know then there is little chance of people being able to discover what the truth behind a story really is. The Internet allows people to discover on their own whether what they heard or not is true and if this ability is taken away then people will have to believe whatever they are being told without question.

There is a pro to net neutrality, that being it can censor people from viewing certain websites that are immorally wrong. There are many websites on the Internet that are not safe for younger people and much like school computers, they can block websites that contain inappropriate words or images. That also raises the other problem that people should have the right to click on what they want to see, despite it being objective to others. As well, certain words would automatically block the website, but the word could be taken out of context, such as a website that contains the word “breast” referring to a website promoting the awareness of breast cancer.

While the battle of Internet freedom continues, there is progress being made for people in support of net neutrality. Recently elected President Barack Obama has showed his outspoken support and stated his campaign will continue protecting the freedom of the Internet. In the future, we should look to expect the principle of net neutrality to continue providing people with the internet experience in which they are familiar with as well make people aware of the privilege they have regarding internet access.

Bibliography

www.savetheineternet.com
www.internetforeveryone.ca