Net Neutrality: Opinions and Issues

Internet is something that we use on an everyday basis. But what if your internet provider restricts access to certain resources? This is where net neutrality comes to play.

What is Net Neutrality?

Defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, net neutrality is “the idea, principle, or requirement that internet service providers should or must treat all Internet data as the same regardless of its kind, source or destination.”

But what exactly does this mean? Visionary Marketing has created a wonderful graphic that explains net neutrality:

With the existence of net neutrality, anyone has access to online information, regardless of the carrier or internet service provider being used.

Without net neutrality, large companies — who can afford to pay high internet prices — can freely access the internet whereas individuals and small businesses are blocked by restrictions.

Present Day Issues

ManilaBulletin has a descriptive example of net neutrality in the Philippines. However, I will be talking from my perspective of using one of the ISPs for my personal consumption.

This ISP offers multiple add-ons with their internet subscriptions, giving access to different services: Facebook Messenger, for example. However, I prefer using LINE as my main messaging application. Despite that, because Messenger is included in their add-ons, as a consumer, I would be more inclined to use Messenger instead of LINE due to its package deal that I received when subscribing to their service.

This is one personal example. There might be more people who have similar experiences. Consumer choice is reduced and it dictates consumers by bundling specific applications and preferred services.

Net neutrality restores consumer choice and no distinction would be made since exclusivity would be non-existent.

References:

Reschini, B. (2020, March 11). Net neutrality: The end of the free Internet? Retrieved from https://visionarymarketing.com/en/2018/07/net-neutrality-the-end-of-the-free-internet/