Net Neutrality

Image found on Popular Science's website.

Colin has been pushing this for a while now and I'm ashamed to say that I haven't given it the attention it deserves. Net Neutrality is one of the most important issues in North America and we're all asleep at the wheel, content to watch our rights disappear because we don't know what we have 'till it's gone.

So lets get "what we have" out in the open.

You're reading this blog because I'm able to publish it and host it for all to see. Regardless of what I might say here, anyone is able to read it regardless of what Internet provider they have. Anyone else can have opposing views on another site somewhere else and their content is just as accessible as mine because the Internet providers, like phone companies, are prohibited from controlling who can see what.

It's infrastructure like this that allows groups like The World Wildlife Fund and The Red Cross to reach out to the general public and propagate information, raise money and affect change. Sites like Livejournal and Google are able to exist because no matter the amount of traffic, the price of disseminating their information remains low as the costs are spread around equally to everyone who uses the Internet. Barack Obama, democratic hopeful for President of the United States, can podcast from his site because the connectivity between he and his supporters remains unbiased, and Linux can be actively developed by programmers around the world because high-speed connections remain cheap enough to download the code they need and get the work done.

This is a good thing, and companies like Telus, Bell, and Rogers want to change it.

They want to change this because frankly, it's more profitable to be able to charge people for "premium" service. The more money you're willing to pay, the more sites you can access. These companies don't care that poor schools can't afford "better" Internet, they only care about money.

Then there's Free Speech. Telus has, in the past restricted access to some sites that criticise their company... because they can. What makes this any different from your electrical company preventing you from using a product they don't want you to use? Standards and level playing fields are good for everyone.

This is a beginning and it's only going to get worse unless someone takes notice. Not one of the major Canadian political parties has taken a position on this issue (not even the Greens or the NDP). Outside of the Environment, the only other "major issue" appears to be bank machine fees... we need our legislators to enshrine net neutrality permanently in Canadian law and we need it done now.

Please write to your MP and ask them to consider the importance of this issue. Write a handwritten letter if you can. For more information, please visit netneutrality.ca or just click on the link I've included at the bottom left side of every page.