Net Neutrality: What Does An Open, Equal Internet For All Mean And Why It's Important

Net neutrality allows free speech and idea sharing, and with net neutrality laws, Internet service providers are prevented from getting the power to regulate or prohibit what their customers access.

Net neutrality represents the idea that Internet users are entitled to broadband Internet service that does not discriminate on the basis of source, destination, or ownership of Internet traffic, and is a concept that has a huge impact on economy and communications. The idea of net neutrality is to ensure an open, equal Internet for everyone, regardless of device, platform or application used. Net neutrality influences some fundamental rights, and an increasing number of people are becoming aware of the importance of its rules. 

Net Neutrality: An overview

The aim of net neutrality is to accommodate technology convergence, and prohibit the use of Internet infrastructure to produce an uneven playing field in Internet applications. 

Net neutrality should apply to both wired and wireless networks, the Department of Computer Science, University of California, Irvine, says on its website.

In order to ensure net neutrality, Internet regulators should not censor, regulate, or restrict any content, services and applications, but try to prevent discrimination between them and ensure their availability. 

The main purpose of regulation is to ensure free Internet and the well-being of its users and service providers. 

The desire to protect and preserve the open nature of the public Internet has raised concerns about net neutrality. The Network & Technologies Cell, Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, deals with policy matters concerning net neutrality in the country. 

In order to recommend overall policy, regulatory and technical responses relating to net neutrality, the Department of Telecommunications established a six-member committee on net neutrality in January 2015. 

Net Neutrality: What is its history?

Professor Tim Wu from the Columbia Law Schools coined the term 'net neutrality' in his June 2002 paper titled 'A Proposal for Network Neutrality'. Professor Wu published another paper a year later, which was titled 'Network Neutrality, Broadband Discrimination'. In these papers, he explained that the growth of home broadband had created a new, difficult regulatory problem.

According to an article published by technology website TechTarget, Professor Wu said cable and digital subscriber line (DSL) operators had a legitimate right to manage their networks for maximum efficiency, but they should not be allowed to discriminate against certain internet applications and users to advance their own interests. 

Professor Wu said that net neutrality is important to balance the competing interests by forbidding broadband operators from what restrictors do with their internet connection, while giving them the operator freedom to manage bandwidth consumption and other matters of local concern.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the communications regulator in the United States, took the first steps supporting net neutrality in 2005. The FCC prohibited Internet service providers from blocking legal content or preventing users from connecting to the Internet with their chosen device, according to TechTarget. 

The FCC fined a North Carolina-based Internet service provider named Madison River and ordered it to stop blocking phone calls over the Internet.

In 2008, the FCC ordered Comcast, the largest American multinational telecommunications conglomerate, to stop slowing down BitTorrent connections on Comcast's network.

The Obama administration enacted US net neutrality laws in 2015. However, the Trump administration repealed these laws in 2018.  

In 2019, multiple states in the US passed executive orders that ban state agencies from doing business with Internet service providers that do not adhere to net neutrality principles. 

Net Neutrality: Why is it important?

Net neutrality is beneficial because it allows information freedom, greater innovation and business freedom and consumer choice.

Net neutrality allows free speech and idea sharing, and with net neutrality laws, Internet service providers are prevented from getting the power to regulate or prohibit what their customers access, see or read on the Internet.

Net neutrality allows smaller companies to grow, and aims to level the playing field by preventing large, rich enterprises from gaining an unfair advantage when they pay Internet service providers more for unrestricted customer access.

Net neutrality is important because it enables access and transparency of internet content, allows access to all internet services and applications, and ensures that all data on the Internet is treated equally by Internet service providers and governments, regardless of content, platform, user, application,  or device. 

Policy discussions on net neutrality target issues such as blocking or filtering online content, and preferential internet speeds based on business agreements. Net neutrality does not allow Internet service providers to determine the speed at which consumers can access specific websites or services, and prevents broadband providers from practising data discrimination as a competitive tactic to prevent smaller companies from entering the market. 

The unrestricted content users can access due to net neutrality should not violate any laws. 

In short, net neutrality promotes a free and open Internet, where people can access content without restriction, and ensures that organisations such as Internet service providers treat all data on the Internet equally. 

Net Neutrality: What are its disadvantages?

Some of the disadvantages of net neutrality include the fact that users pay only for the Internet service, and not the data they consume. For instance, customers who use less bandwidth may not want to pay for the infrastructure needed to support high-bandwidth activities, according to a NordVPN blog post. 

Also, offensive, dangerous, illicit and illegal content is accessible to everyone through net neutrality, and is difficult to remove. In the absence of net neutrality, Internet service providers can filter dangerous content.

Moreover, large amounts of data are consumed without being paid for, as a result of which Internet service providers may not be able to invest in their infrastructure.

Net Neutrality: Status in different countries

In 2015, the Obama Administration advanced the net neutrality legislation and enacted rules that prevented Internet service providers such as AT&T Communications and Comcast from deliberately speeding up or slowing down traffic to and from specific websites based on demand or business preferences, according to financial website Investopedia.

In 2017, the FCC, under the Trump Administration, eliminated all net neutrality protections and renounced its authority over broadband. However, the administration allowed states to implement their own internet rules. 

In July 2022, Senators Edward J Markey, Ron Wyden and Representative Doris Matsui introduced the Net Neutrality and Broadband Justice Act, a legislation that gives the FCC the appropriate authority to reinstate net neutrality protections, and to prohibit discriminatory practices like blocking, paid prioritisation online. The Act also gives the FCC the ability to enact effective broadband policies that increase accessibility, enhance public safety and protect consumers. 

The European Union (EU) has formed regulations to promote and protect an open internet, and to prevent Internet service providers from restricting and blocking users' access to lawful content. However, there are certain exceptions, including the fact that Internet service providers have the ability to slow traffic at the request of a court order. 

Other countries which have enforced net neutrality include Belgium, Brazil, Canada, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, Slovenia, South Korea and Switzerland.

Net Neutrality: What is its status in India?

India developed some of the strictest net neutrality laws in the world in 2017, with an aim to promote an open internet and widespread internet access to the country's citizens. 

The recommendations from the six-member committee constituted by the Department of Telecommunications in 2015 were placed in the public domain to obtain inputs from stakeholders. 

On February 8, 2016, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released a regulation which prohibits any service provider from offering or charging discriminatory tariffs for data services on the basis of content. 

On November 28, 2017, the TRAI provided its recommendations on net neutrality to the Department of Telecommunications. 

The Indian government is committed to the fundamental principles and concepts of net neutrality, in order to keep the Internet accessible and available to all without discrimination.