The Internet’s success lies in its design, which is based on the principle of network neutrality. All data traffic on the Internet at that time, whether coming from start-ups or big companies, was treated without discrimination. New companies and innovators did not need permission or market power to innovate on the Internet. The importance of network neutrality to the success of the Internet, so far, has been key. This is why the debate has attracted a wide range of actors: from the President of the United States to human right grassroots activists. From the start, network neutrality was a US-based debate; but with new developments, network neutrality is increasingly being discussed worldwide.
In between the two “Dutch extremes”
Europe is a leader when it comes to debating about net neutrality and proposing ways ahead: the Norwegian model has become famous, followed by similar views in Sweden and other countries, and the (relatively) mild position of...
‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’ This is one way to read ETNO’s (European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association) most recent proposal to the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) to regulate the possibility of creating a multi-tiered Internet. Were not the telecom operators against more regulation, especially within a global framework such as the ITU? The stakes are...
The excellent new future-gazing piece from Mary Meeker, embedded below, set the Internet abuzz last week. Her annual Internet Report has “acquired legendary status in the industry because it distilled from the froth some elements of reality”, says John Naughton, himself well...
Regulation by states, or self-regulation by companies themselves?
There is almost no field of Internet governance that does not involve this debate. The well-known example in the telecom market is, of course, service costs: business opts for an open market that would empower users’ choice to force providers to adjust the costs; regulators are there to take care that...
Who owns the cloud? Is my data secure there? Who manages Internet domains and addresses and how? What is network neutrality? How can states provide for Internet security without breaching our basic human rights? Or can they? Can we have an Internet that is both safe and open?
DiploFoundation's Internet Governance Capacity Building Programme 2012 may not have all of the answers, but it...
‘Hurrah! The Netherlands has become the first European country to enshrine Net Neutrality in law.’
Many would share John Naughton’s joyous feeling expressed in his blog on 10 June. Many - but not everyone. In fact, a good number of those following the Net Neutrality debate would be cautious, if not...