The Internet is used by millions everyday. With so many people using one open platform, a question arises. Should the government regulate the Internet or leave it to the people? Regulation according to Webster Dictionary is defined as, “a rule or order issued by an executive authority or regulatory agency of a government and having the force of law,” The regulatory agency in this case is the Federal Communications Commission. They, by classification, are in charge of the Internet for Americans. In any case, both sides of the argument are supported by millions. However, the Internet should be regulated due to user security, net neutrality, and data collecting.
The Internet should be regulated to protect the security of Internet users. Recently
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The definition of Net Neutrality is that individual users and company based users all get the same access, all users can go anywhere, anytime. Before June of 2015 companies could prevent certain companies from using their platforms, which blocked their customers from viewing their content. Internet Service Providers provided high speed fast lanes to those who paid more as well, which slowed down daily user’s connection. In June the Federal Communications Commission banned the use of blocking and throttling to provide open access to all users through any platform (“Open Internet”). The newly made regulations gave equal access to everyone. Comcast could no longer block Netflix, or provide Hulu a fast lane. This regulation is an example of working regulations put on the Internet. The effect of these rules show that regulations can work, “The Internet’s openness has radically transformed all kinds of industries, from food delivery to finance, by lowering the barriers to entry. It has allowed a few bright engineers or students with an idea to launch a business that would be immediately available all over the world to over a billion potential customers. Start-ups do not need the leverage and bank accounts of Apple or Google to get reliable service to reach their users. In fact, historically, they have not paid any arbitrary fees to providers to reach users,” (Ammori). The quote comes to show that young entrepreneurs …show more content…
Security and privacy will be more enhanced to be better equipped for the consumer. Net Neutrality will provide fairness between individual users and company based users. Collecting private data will be limited, and inform consumers of breaches. Regulation can provide endless possibilities for an open Internet.
Works Cited
Ammori, Marvin. “The Case for Net Neutrality.” Foreign Affairs. Council of Foreign Affairs, 16 June 2014. 23 February 2017.
Beckett, Lois. "Everything We Know About What Data Brokers Know About You." ProPublica. Pro Publica Inc., 8 July 2014. 15 February 2017.
Berniner, Daniel. "The Collateral Damage of FCC Internet Regulation." Washington Examiner. MediaDC, 11 June 2015. 13 March 2017.
Duncan, Geoff. “Can the Government Regulate Internet Privacy?” Digital Trends. Designtechnica Corporation, 18 April 2014. 7 February 2017.
Kaplan, Eben. "Terrorists and the Internet." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, 08 January 2009. 16 February 2017.
"Open Internet." Federal Communications Commission. Federal Communications
Although the net neutrality debate didn’t come into the spot light so long ago, it has sparked controversy in the communications world. This concept provides a positive impact to the consumers, competition and network owners/internet service providers. It broadens the aspect of equality, which the open Internet was first based on. The profound effects on the aforementioned players provide a supported purpose to regulate the notion of net neutrality.
The Open Internet Order establishes two sets of “prophylactic rules” designed to “incorporate longstanding openness principles that are generally in line with current practices.” One set of rules applies to “fixed” broadband providers—i.e., those furnishing residential broadband service and, more generally, Internet access to end users “primarily at fixed end points using stationary equipment” Second, the Order imposes anti-blocking requirements on both types of broadband providers (13). Third, the Order imposes an anti-discrimination requirement on fixed broadband providers only (14). Verizon challenged the FCC claiming that they have over stepped their boundaries, and violated Verizon’s first amendment rights. That the FCC
A recent and hotly debated topic among businesses, politicians, and internet users in the United States is that of net neutrality. With the rise of the internet over the past few decades, laws and regulations have struggled to keep up with the ever changing environment. As such, the problem of whether net neutrality should be enforced, and to what extent, has been a dividing issue. This problem has come into the public’s attention recently due to infringements and controversy surrounding policies by Internet Service Providers (ISPs). In the following paragraphs, I plan to first define the concept of net neutrality, related topics which are crucial for an informed ethical discussion of the topic, and also related cases in which net neutrality
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While high-speed internet access is currently limited to a physical connection, our wireless technology is rapidly progressing. Most consumers also have an internet connect via their cell phone. This limits an ISP’s ability to abuse their power and filter or censor content from consumers. All of the telecom companies would need to work together in order to successfully filter content and this would run afoul of consumer protections laws. The coming 5G networks will further dilute ISP’s monopoly as it will be much easier for companies to provide internet access to consumers. As preciously mentioned, the United States internet was left unregulated for years and there exists very little evidence that the companies attempted to filter content or censor consumers media
Sussman, Leonard R. The Internet and Press Freedom 2000. 2000. Freedom House. Feb. 20, 2001. <http://www.freedomhouse.org/pfs2000/sussman.html>.
Schmidt, E. E., & Cohen, J. (2014, March 11). The Future of Internet Freedom. Retrieved September 26, 2017, from
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Lately you may have heard about the topic of “Net Neutrality” in the news. You may be wondering what Net Neutrality is and why it is such an important issue regarding the internet. Net Neutrality, the idea that all data must be treated equally, is one of the ideas that make the internet what it is today, ; a place where ideas and services can be shared freely without being discriminated against. Unfortunately, the Net Neutrality rules have been repealed by the FCC and drastic changes could happen to the internet. Since Net Neutrality is so important for the internet we all know and use, it has to be reinstated.
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Internet privacy should be upheld by the government because it denies freedom to an extent.
Regulation is an issue that has formulated mostly because of how easily any child can access the internet. The thought is that if adult related material is easily accessible, then our children can view it also. People want to protect their children from items such as pornography, hate speech, violence, and gambling. All of which can be reached at the click of a button. So is regulating the internet the correct way of protecting our children?
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Free speech on the Internet is a very controversial subject and has been the key problem surrounding the Internet today. The attempt to regulate and govern the Internet is still pursued by government officials. This subject has been intensified due to terrorist attacks against the United States and around world within the past years. The government believes that by regulating the Internet, it will protect the general public from criminal actions and eliminate the exposure of children to pornography or vulgar language. Senator Jim Exon of ...