“Net Neutrality”: Destroyer of Internet Freedom
Advocates of “net neutrality” are apoplectic amid reports that ISP Comcast slowed down file-sharing programs on its network. The FCC is threatening action against Comcast, while advocates of a new net-neutrality law sponsored by Congressman Edward Markey are taking the occasion to claim such legislation is necessary to protect “Internet freedom.”
But net neutrality is antithetical to Internet freedom.
What exactly is net neutrality? It is the idea that ISPs should not be able to favor some types of data over others; their networks must be “neutral” among all the data they carry. What if ISPs, who have invested billions in upgrading their transcontinental networks, want to give certain web traffic higher priority so that they can guarantee quality service for applications consumers will pay extra for, such as high-quality live broadcasts? Too bad. What if they want to ensure generally high performance by placing limitations on bandwidth usage, as Comcast is apparently doing, so that a few users cannot slow down the rest with huge, often illegal, video files? Under the egalitarianism of net neutrality, such actions are forbidden….