Should The Internet Be Regulated: is It About Net Neutrality

The enforcing of net neutrality has undoubtedly brought much benefit to Internet consumers, however those that oppose it bring up some valid points of consideration as well. After evaluating these points, my personal view on net neutrality is such that it should be contingent on the nature of the market as well as the culture of users, but a balance should be struck where net neutrality is enforced to a certain degree so as to maximise the benefits of both points of view. I will reflect on the question whether should the internet be regulated. Withis this essay I will also present arguments which support my viewpoint about the topic. 

Benefits of Both Internet Regulation and Net Neutrality

Firstly, an advantage of regulating net neutrality is that an equal playing field is created, namely in the Internet service market. ISPs large and small are given the same opportunities to gain customers as no single company is able to control how data is delivered and accessed. A single company would thus be unable to block access, alter services or change the flow of data at a whim.

Another benefit to be reaped from enforcing net neutrality is that users have a protected freedom of speech due to the lack of censorship. This is particularly salient in cultures such as that in the United States, where freedom of expression is regarded as a basic human right and many people and activists are able to start and spread movements through the internet. Under net neutrality, people will thus be entitled to express themselves through social media and other platforms.

However, there are admittedly many advantages to having a free market in the internet access market albeit the points brought up above. Although the internet is free for all to use, there are inherently some people that use the internet more than others. Net neutrality would charge all consumers the same amount regardless of how much an individual uses, which would place someone who rarely uses the internet at a disadvantage. It also disadvantages ISPs as they gain reduced income from Internet, and they have to pay more to manage their offices and infrastructure. This loss in profit could go towards improving and upgrading existing infrastructure and services. For instance as brought up above in the first question, when net neutrality was repealed, a rural ISP was able to commit a sum of money towards improving their services. Currently, ISPs are held back from charging consumers directly, forcing them to charge sites like Netflix, which causes Netflix to increase its monthly subscription charge.

Final Thoughts

With these views in mind, I feel that whether the internet should be regulated should depend on the market type as well as the nature of the users of it in that area. In places like the US where many areas have low competition or even monopolies, moreover given that the barriers to entry to this industry are considerably high, there is low incentive to start up competing firms and build infrastructure with no existing customer base. This is where the government might want to consider regulating the internet to a certain extent to prevent an abuse of dominance. However, when there is high competition in a place like Singapore, my personal view is that the government should leave the market more to its own devices, as the internet will largely be self-regulating, so as to reap maximum benefit. 

References

1. Cohen, S. (2019). Regulating the Internet: A Comparative Study. Cambridge University Press.

2. van der Laan, T., & van Deursen, A. (2019). Regulating the internet: assessing the effectiveness of internet regulation in a changing communication environment. Policy & Internet, 11(2), 210-233.

3. Zittrain, J. (2008). The future of the Internet and how to stop it. Yale University Press.

4. Wu, T. (2010). The master switch: The rise and fall of information empires. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

5. Lessig, L. (2006). The future of ideas: The fate of the commons in a connected world. Random House.

6. van Schewick, B. (2010). Internet architecture and innovation. The MIT Press.

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7. Wu, T. (2003). Network neutrality, broadband discrimination. Journal of Telecommunications and High Technology Law, 2, 141-179.