INFORMEDdebate
YES
Should Internet
openness be ensured
by regulation?
from members:
Dave Percival
Henderson, NV
Companies are already
throttling Internet connections. The Internet
would fall apart with
tiered access.
“NET NEUTRALITY” IS the idea that all information flowing across the
Internet should be treated equally. But the Internet faces congestion
concerns. Some carriers have proposed multitiered access, in which
subscribers would pay more for heavy data traffic or have their data
traffic slowed or blocked to allow other data to flow more quickly.
Proponents of net neutrality believe the Internet should be open to
all data traffic, and companies should be prevented from blocking
access or giving faster access to some data traffic over others.
Critics of regulation argue that Internet content providers own the
videos, music and information they post and Internet service providers must have the option to slow down some data in order to allow
other data to flow more quickly. The Internet is not public property,
they claim, and should not be regulated as such.
What do you think?
James M. Dunn
Liberty, MO
We the people own the
Internet. Its first use is
to serve us, not make
money for Internet content providers.
J. Benjamin Kidd
Novi, MI
Many carriers would like
to fragment, regulate
and collude with other
carriers to create condi-
tions for maximum prof-
its over public access or interest.
ARTVILLE
NO
from members:
Brian Kuhens
Spartanburg, SC
Find out more about
this topic on the Web:
http://mashable.com/2010/08/27/net-
neutrality-worst-case/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/
technology/ 8271303.stml
www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS22444.pdf
Jacqueline Norgod
Palo Alto, CA
The market should
dictate priority of
data streams, and
providers should
allow customers to
choose what kind of traffic is
optimized.
Amy Ellzey
Olathe, KS
The Internet has
evolved from very
smart thinking. This is
an issue that, with the
right minds, can be
resolved [without regulation].
