“Net neutrality” isn’t exactly a phrase to set the pulse racing, and perhaps that’s partly why so few Americans have paid attention to its threatened status. Now, it might be too late.
Some people assume net neutrality is difficult to understand—which to be fair much of tech is—but it’s a relatively simple concept. Essentially, it is the practice of equality of the internet. It means internet services providers (ISPs) must treat all data on the internet, and consumers, the same way. That is, ISPs (such as Comcast and Verizon in the United States and Virgin and BT in the UK) cannot serve certain content at a faster speed than other content; they cannot charge more for certain content; they cannot preference content; they cannot charge users more for using certain equipment or applications. They cannot, in other words, use technical tricks to push us towards or away from certain sites, for commercial reasons or any other whim.
Most people agree that net neutrality is an important democratic principle. But not Donald Trump, whose administration has just repealed the US law that protects net neutrality, the Open Internet Order, which enshrines a principle of American governance for the web. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to repeal the regulation, splitting 3-2 on party lines, with Republicans voting to end it.
A threat to the way we live
The destruction of net neutrality threatens the open internet and, as the internet is such a huge part of our lives, it also threatens the way we live now. It could affect how we stream films, how we use social media, how we email. Imagine living in a never-ending buffering hell because your ISP found reason to prod you towards different sites or services.If ISPs can control how fast or slow content reaches us, then big companies such as Amazon and Netflix might end up paying them to get into the fast lane. This concept, known as “paid prioritisation,” will hurt start-ups and small companies that can’t foot that bill. In total, 170 US content providers protested against the repeal, including Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, Google and even PornHub. These tech behemoths are of course the ones that could afford to pay for priority speeds, and yet they are still against it because currently they don’t have to pay at all; some, such as Netflix, also claim to be advocating on behalf of the little guys.
The end of neutrality could also impair diversity. Local community blogs could be throttled in slow lanes. Free speech is also threatened as ISPs could use their infrastructure to block content from any website that hurt its interests, which would most obviously mean those of its competitors.
Consumers must be careful
Consumers are waking up to the practical dangers. For instance, ISPs could start turning content currently accessed for free into part of additional paid-for bundles. Want to keep watching YouTube? An additional £10 a month, please.Aside from a few wild libertarians who don’t trust the government to impose net neutrality, the claim of its enemies is that the regulation harms competition. Though if the point of competition is to serve the customer, Republicans ought to pause and ask themselves why it’s not just the tech sector but also consumer groups who are against.
So what does the American row mean for the UK? At present, net neutrality is protected under European Union legislation (though this legislation isn’t perfect—there are workarounds for mobile internet use).
What will happen now?
But Brexit could change this. Net neutrality could and should be dealt with through the Great Repeal Bill process, but the current government has not proved itself competent on tech. See: outdated operating systems on NHS computers; Amber Rudd’s frequent tech word-salad; the Snooper’s charter. With this track record, it’s not unthinkable that a Tory government could flirt with (or blunder into) a repeal of its own.Even if the legislation remains in place, the decision in the US to axe net neutrality could still affect UK consumers—lots of American content providers, whose material is also popular here, will be negatively impacted by the changes.
Consumers in the UK should stay vigilant and be careful not to emulate the initial indifference US consumers felt towards the issue—perhaps too distracted by the very cat videos that were under threat.
Brexit Britain: the future of industry is a publication which examines the future of UK manufacturing through the prism of the recently released Industrial Strategy White Paper. The report features contributions from the likes of Greg Clark MP, Miriam Gonzalez, Richard Graham MP and Frances O’Grady.
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