w  rd 2 the woss

The term Net Neutrality has been floating around for the past decade. However, it is clear that only recently have people been learning what it means.

 

Net Neutrality is the principle that all internet traffic should be treated equally, no matter what Internet Service Provider is carrying it. In more basic terms, users have the right to access any website without restriction by their Internet Service Providers.

 

This right has been taken advantage of by everyone for years, yet recently it has become threatened in one of the most influential countries in the world, the United States.

 

The Federal Communications Commission has voted to reverse the Net Neutrality rules established by the Obama administration in 2015. This places the United States with a number of other countries including Japan, India, Australia and Russia who have restricted Internet.

 

Supporters of net neutrality fear that without it, broadband companies will favour their own content over that of rivals, limiting the information people can have access to. They may block material more frequently, and give some businesses access to online “fast lanes”, for which they pay a premium for to get their traffic delivered to consumers more quickly. This is a problem as such a move would favor deep-pocketed, incumbent companies over startups.

 

In Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) comforts Canadians, stating it will strengthen its commitment to net neutrality.

“It’s encouraging that the CRTC thinks net neutrality is important,” Laura Tribe, the executive director of the advocacy group, Open Media said. “But the U.S. decision could set a precedent and then it could come to Canada.”

 

Such a move would shatter the internet as we know it.