Net Neutrality an Issue of Equality
Oct 22, 2007
Recently, the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) called on the Canadian government to take action to expand broadband internet access and to ensure something called “network neutrality.”
At issue is the increasing concern with regard to ensuring access to broadband coverage and in protecting consumers. At the most recent NUPGE convention, a background paper entitled “The Internet: Accessibility and Net Neutrality” was presented to delegates. It makes a strong case for the need for government intervention to expand internet access and to protect consumers against the development of a two-tier internet.
It goes without saying that the internet has revolutionized the way that hundreds of millions of people around the world work, shop, communicate and relax. We are likely only in the first wave of changes to our social structure that were ushered in by the development of this technology. Access to the internet is quickly becoming necessary for many in the developed and developing world. Access to it – particularly broadband access – is becoming yet another factor which separates the haves and have-nots.
Disparities in access have implications for both Canada’s economy and people’s equality. Poor and rural citizens are at a disadvantage when compared to the rich and urban. Children in schools without broadband access are at a disadvantage compared to those who have it. Workers and businesses without access are limited in the services they can provide and the work they can do.
Access to broadband internet access is basically an issue about democratic governance. Is it available to all or will it remain a tool for the elite? One of the wonderful things about the development of the internet is that it put everyone on the same level playing field. However, some corporations are now undertaking actions that lead to unequal access to internet content. They’d prefer to create essentially a two-tier internet that would allow them to slow or even block content that is not in their corporate interests. The most egregious example of this is was when Telus blocked customers from visiting a website that was sympathetic to the striking workers at their company. This is censorship, pure and simple.
Net neutrality, then, is basically the principle that all internet traffic be treated as equal, regardless of where it comes from, where it’s going, or what it is to be used for. This is an issue about the rights of citizens to exercise control over one of the most powerful communications tools ever developed.
Telecommunications companies should not be able to favour some sites over others by charging different rates to different customers or making some sites easier to access than others. It will become increasingly difficult for small, independent voices to be heard on the web if this happens.
Canadians need to understand the threat to equal access to the internet posed by these issues. We ought to demand that our federal government ensure that proper guidelines are in place to protect the interests of Canadians and to preserve net neutrality.
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