Network Neutrality

Anna Bieberdorf Elijah Hughes Erica Lazrus Katharine Saidkhanian Yuriy Sountsov

DefinitionNetwork neutrality is the idea that all internet traffic

should be treated equally. It does not matter who is downloading and what is being downloaded.

The FCC issued its Broadband Policy Statement which lists four principles of open internet:

• access the lawful Internet content of their choice.• run applications and use services of their choice,

subject to the needs of law enforcement• connect their choice of legal devices that do not harm

the network.• competition among network providers, application and

service providers, and content providers.

Development of the Concept

In 2003, Tim Wu, a professor at Columbia Law School published an article considering neutrality between data and applications. It was not really considered until 2006.

Proponents of Network Neutrality

Online Consumer Companies• Ex: Ebay and Amazon

Internet Application Companies and Search Engines

• Ex: Google and Yahoo

Other Major Companies• Ex: Microsoft

Opponents of Network Neutrality

Telecommunication Companies• Ex: AT&T, Verizon, and Time Warner Cable

Arguments for Network Neutrality

• Internet Service Providers have incredible amounts of potential power over their customers. By having a neutral world network, users can decide and create the fabric of the internet. While some say it would hinder innovation, network neutrality allows for a broader range of products to be used in the market.

Arguments Against Network Neutrality

• Television and cable companies invest a lot of money in their networks and should be able to decide who can use them in order to protect them from viruses and congestion.

• When telephone and cable companies charge online companies for the ability to transfer their data, they can use the added revenue to pay for increased broadband access to more costumers

• Net neutrality would limit profits and therefore reduce investment in broadband by the internet providers

• With more video streaming site and peer-to-peer file sharing becoming more available, there has been an increase in Internet traffic that can be better managed without net neutrality

OTHER VIEWS•Many hold the view that the issue has been overdeveloped – it is not as significant as many think it is

•It is much more important how the actual services use the internet than how people use it

•Eventually the internet will be able to support infinite bandwidth, making the issue of net neutrality one for archaeologists to study

LEGALITY•H.R.5353 - Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2008

To establish broadband policy and direct the Federal Communications

Commission to conduct a proceeding and public broadband summits to

assess competition, consumer protection, and consumer choice

issues relating to broadband Internet access services, and for other

purposes.To make available so far as possible, to all the people of the United States, without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex, rapid, efficient, Nation-wide, and world-wide wire and radio communication services with adequate facilities at reasonable charges .

PURPOSE:

Related Issues

• Some argue that the topic of net neutrality is focusing on the wrong issues with regards to regulations of the Internet

• One such observer, Columbia University Law professor Tim Wu, believes that regulations should be more aimed towards creating equality among analogous types of applications instead of neutrality among all applications in general.