Does the recent U.S court decision on net neutrality affect Canada's internet situation?

   Wednesday, February 5, 2014

           
   Article: http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2014/01/16/will-u-s-court-ruling-on-net-neutrality-affect-canadas-internet-situation/


                                           

                                        

Summary: This article from RCI was written by Wojtek Gwiazda on January 16, 2014.

 Last month, the U.S Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C, dismissed a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule regarding Net Neutrality which acted to prevent Internet providers from giving preferential treatment to data from a specific provider or platform. The challenge was launched by U.S. company Verizon. Supporters of an open and easily accessible Internet around the world are concerned by the ruling and its implications by consumers and what they get as a service from telecommunication companies. In the most basic terms, the open internet rules ensured that all data on the web was treated fairly and equally. In essence, it means that the internet is open to the highest bidder; those with the most money will ensure that their content is seen, while all others cannot. The U.S court decision on net neutrality worry supporters of an open internet in Canada. Will the recent U.S court ruling on net neutrality affect Canada's Internet situation?  

Opinion: I think the U.S net neutrality court case may affect Canadians too. Although the concept has been around for at least 10 years, not many people really know what's about. I wasn't too informed about it either. What does "Net Neutrality" really mean? Net Neutrality ( also Network Neutrality or Internet Neutrality) is the principle that internet providers and government should treat all data on the internet equally, not discriminating or charging differently by user, content, site, platform, application, type of attached equipment and modes of communication. In essence, it argues that no bit of information should be prioritized over another. This principle applies that an information network such as the internet is most efficient and useful to the public when is less focused on a particular audience and instead is attentive to multiple users. 

The recent U.S court decision on net neutrality has brought the subject to the forefront of the news. As an example, there is a lot of theory on the internet that (and depending on where you get your information from) this court decision could lead to a monthly rate hike for Netflix. I don't think this is impossible. However, it's improbable that the reason of a possible increase to what we pay Netflix monthly would be due to net neutrality.

I think there are pros and cons about this ruling. The pros are that according to the court ruling on net neutrality, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can't push too much regulation on the internet. The cons are that this ruling means telephone companies are free to do what they please. In spite of that, I believe it's not the end of Net Neutrality. The recent U.S court decision on Net Neutrality is about a specific case and this still could be changed as well. Besides, the FCC could still try to regulate via another avenue. 

To conclude, this recent U.S court decision on net neutrality can't be good for Canadians. I believe it establishes a frightening pattern and it may affect the average consumer. We should keep a close eye on it.

References: 1- Wojtek, G (2014, January 16) Will U.S court ruling on net neutrality affect Canada's internet situation? Retrieved from http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2014/01/16/will-u-s-court-ruling-on-net-neutrality-affect-canadas-internet-situation/ 

2- Net Neutrality (n.d.) In Wikipedia. Retrieved February, 04, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_neutrality 

Discussion:

1- How will this U.S court ruling on net neutrality affect countries outside the U.S, like Canada? 

2- Should the FCC be given greater power, or less power than it currently has? 

3- How will the recent U.S court ruling affect the average consumer?