The Future of Network Neutrality
We have to admit, the whole idea of network neutrality is a little grey to us, but at the same time, we probably have a good enough idea about the whole thing to comment about this again (the first time was just a short blurb that can be read here). The general gist of network neutrality seems to be that providers shouldn’t be allowed to dictate and/or influence the accessibility of one site over another or one device over another, which is something that dollars and cents would ultimately control.
The Internet is the fundamental tool for a global utopia, and the universal access to the Internet is something that we believe the world should move towards. As a tool, for learning, communication, and expression, the Internet is invaluable. It connects the world in a way that ignores religion, colour of skin, language, and every other way that we, as societies, have discriminated against eachother, and it allows people access to information. Knowledge is the key to the growth of any specific group, and as forward thinking individuals, we believe it is the key to the future of something so much more important - the planet and the people.
Wikipedia.orgÂ? is probably one of the most powerful examples of the global community that influences and interacts with the Internet, and also an interesting argument for network neutrality. The website already has more entries than Britannica, andÂ? these entries have been submitted by the public. They can be debated, added to, edited, or accepted as correct. It is even the site that was consulted before writing this entry on network neutrality. In general, if something doesn’t exist on Wikipedia, we actually start to question if it really does exist at all! Without network neutrality, this free, non-commercial website would be kept from many users while larger, paying companies are given priority.
It’s almostÂ? impossible to deny that the success of people as a species will require us to co-exist in a manner analgousÂ? to Wikipedia - where we can debate, communicate, agree, and disagree. We can’t continue on our current path of destruction and our one-dimensional view of competition that is selfish and often affects large groups negatively. By focussing on the world as a team, and striving for the success of that team, we create a situation that is beneficial to everyone. It sounds like borderline hippy talk, and hey, if we all join hands and sing kumbayah, I’d probably join in the party. But really, what it comes down to is the survival of the human population being dependent on the ability for us to coexist. With unbiased access to knowledge, this is achievable.
We are on a path that will lead us to a universal society (whether we make it to the end of that path or blow ourselves up is another question). Network neutrality will play a greater role in this than most people can imagine. It really brings about one question: Would you prefer the world of Orwell’s Big Brother, or the world of the Roddenberry’s Star Trek? Not that we have anything against Orwell, but if you ask us, the idea of living in the dictatorship described by Mr. Blair is so 1984, and we’d prefer to live in the future.