Regulations and Neutrality on the Web
Net neutrality and regulating the Internet continues to become more important on a national and international level.
During the past conflicts with net neutrality within the United States companies have folded under consumer demand.
A recent development on Internet privacy is the overturning of the regulations that the Obama administration had put in place to protect Web users. In another poor move to kick off the first 100 days, the Trump administration has now signed into law giving Internet providers more access to their consumers’ information.
“This is a repeal with no replacement.” – Danny Weitzner, director of the M.I.T. Internet Policy Research Initiative
In connection with net neutrality, regulating the Internet continues to be an issue that will need to be refined over a long period of time.
The act of regulating speed for websites is one part of net neutrality. CNET reported:
‘The Internet Association, a lobbying group that represents companies such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, Netflix and Microsoft, met with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on Tuesday. Its message was clear: Don’t tear down our existing online protections.’
Larger companies already have an edge with Internet speed by having the resources to obtain servers in several sections of the country to give faster and more efficient user experiences for their users.
A startup usually starts with one server. If they develop to the point of needing additional servers, it will cut into their overall profit. Once a company can afford backup servers, they tend to start setting up their own servers in highly populated regions, or they will go with a service such as Amazon Web Services.
The Internet is a difficult area to regulate overall within a capitalism-based economy. It is a medium that is meant to provide an open source platform to share information. As producers and consumers, we need to work together to develop regulations that work best for everyone.
In an era of open information, it could be ironic that the tech companies selling their user data, will be the same companies that will experience profit loss once indie and mainstream media outlets release which companies to blacklist for providing unfair user experiences to their users.
Watch over the TED Talk below for more information on this topic.
