Save the internets! Network neutrality and you.
Network Neutrality is the topic of discussion. It is a phrase that most people don’t hear. If you search for “network neutrality” on cbc.ca you get 2 results . This is utterly disgusting. It blog entry isn’t worth spewing the wikipedia link of Network Neutrality on this blog, so research it yourself - > here.
Watching the issue being debated between American politicians and telecablecorps such as Verizon, and AT&T is ONE THING, but seeing now Rogers and Bell are shaping up to get a piece of the pie in Canada is another.
http://ambermac.typepad.com/ambermac/2007/03/the_net_neutral.html
Network neutrality is an issue which can destroy free speech on the internet if you, the user, do not speak up. Major telecablecorps want to control what what information (especially video) the average internet user views. Another entity interested in controlling what people see online is your friendly, lovable government. Take the latest news coming out of Thailand. The government decided to ban youtube to the Thai people because a few clips on the popular website offended the King. Take this extreme example and apply it to other governments who are paranoid about certain unfiltered documentaries and videos being readily available to anyone via the internet. Governments have interests in controlling what content is available to it’s people, while on the other end of the tunnel you have the large internet companies lobbying the government for more and more power.
I have noticed lately that blogging has been viewed by many extreme right news corps *coughfoxnewcough* as non-sense, discreditable, non-factual, lies and even deceit. Now I must admit that many blogs are basically treated as an online diary for the user, but we obviously can not assume that what everyone says in a blog is a fact, or even true. One thing blogs CAN do however, is guide the reader towards information based on facts and news articles (which SHOULD be based on facts) and not assumptions. This is done by linking words in blogs to more credible sources such as wikipedia. Many however, argue that wikipedia is not a credible source, I will leave that for you to decide.
Back to net neutrality. Please make the effort to learn about net neutrality and how vital it is to our cyberculture as fans and users of the internet. If large telecablecorps are allowed to control what their clients may view online, chances are our freedoms of expression to blog, post videos, pictures and information will also be monitored and controlled by the government. This of coarse would devastate those of you addicted to Facebook !
For more interesting videos on net neutrality please watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9jHOn0EW8U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPap8ijDv5g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H69eCYcDcuQ
Filed under: net neutrality, Blogs
