Government regulations on the internet
With the vast amounts of information available on the internet, is it necessary to have government regulations on the internet? Do they keep consumers safe or is the government violating our right to information by censoring what can be accessed? Government regulations are rules for the web controlling what the public can and cannot view. These regulations are made by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), an independent agency of the United States government. In this essay I will be describing the pros and cons of these government regulations and what effects they have on the public. Government regulations on the internet first took place in 1996 starting with the phone company AT&T for
…show more content…
Internet Regulations also decrease the chances of online theft, and help keep fake websites off the internet such as the scam pages that may pop up while using other websites and may also help protect your electronic device from spams. To keep government regulations in place it does cost America quite a bit of money. On average government regulations on the internet cost the U.S up to $55 billion dollars per year. With all the money spent on these regulations it makes it difficult for many business consumers to keep a successful business going while following the regulations which are very specific on what you can and can not …show more content…
With every country having access, can any one set of rules be made to apply globally? Should the internet be considered as its own independent nation? Where do the real responsibilities of regulations lie, with the consumer or the provider? With so many avenues that make the internet what it is, how does one decide the limit of censorship or privacy without limiting the impact on the economy? Surely with highly limited access to sensitive information, consumers would also have to be protected from what web providers have access to as well. With such high costs of these regulations, how can they continue to be put into place if the information gained from consumer use is restricted? The information they obtain through consumer data use helps companies to market their goods which in turn, at some point of sale, helps pay for the regulations. How far does it go? Where does it stop? As the information available continues to grow to meet the demand of an ever changing society, this topic will continue to be a
Net-neutrality is the principle that providers of Internet services enable access to all contents with no prejudice or discrimination against sites or products regardless of the source. In December, the U.S. government repealed the national regulations that prevented “Internet Service Providers from blocking legal content, throttling traffic or prioritizing content on their broadband networks” in favor of a “looser set of requirements that ISPs disclose any blocking or prioritization of their own content.” In summary, the government has decided to change net-neutrality and make it easier to profit from. The government’s want, and subsequent success, to change the strict guidelines by which net-neutrality operated with is supported by the Chairman
In Network Neutrality Nuances, David Farber makes a contrasting counterpoint to Barbara van Schewick’s piece of net neutrality protecting us from abuse from our ISPs. Farber states that because the internet has always regulated itself over the course of its nature and is continuing to grow increasingly with no issues, we should continue to let the internet self-regulate. Thus David Farber is suggesting that the government and legislators take a reactive stance on the internet because over the course of the internet’s history it has shown to be growing exponentially. Farber continues to analyze the history of net neutrality and comes to the conclusion that any legislation that attempts to manage the internet will fail due to the incompetence of legislations regarding the internet as demonstrated by history. Farber attempts to inductively explain the pretense behind the legislations against net neutrality; however some of his examples ultimately fail to support his conclusion due to his very apparent position against legislators
The most important thing that the bureaucracy does is implement policy. Congress and the President make the policies and laws, but they have someone else (the bureaucracy) to implement them. However, they also make policy by rule-making (process of defining rules or standards that apply uniformly to classes of individuals, events, and activities). Also, according to Jillson (2016), "Congress passes laws that authorize government programs, the bureaucracy then writes specific rules that define how the program will be administered." So, when the bureaucracy makes rules you have to obey them because they have the force of law.
David Farber’s Counterpoint in “Net Neutrality Nuances” by Barbara Schewick and David Farber brings up a different perspective and analysis on the issue of Net Neutrality. Instead of agreeing with the opinion of the majority and supporting the idea of the government regulating the behavior of ISPs when it comes to the internet, he argues that the government should simply leave it undisturbed and refrain from passing any laws regarding net neutrality. He believes the government progress will only slow down and hinder the actual solution, which he believes is to let the internet work itself out and resolve its own problems as it has done so in the past. While he brings up valid counterpoints to Barbara Schewick’s points that support regulation, David
He, along with many Americans, believed the Communications Decency Act could affect such information and discussions. He proposed a study of the internet by the Justice Department. He wanted the Department to evaluate and search for ways to improve the enforcement of the existing laws, in addition to help parents monitor their children’s internet
With the world population being 7,259,902,243 people, a grossly huge amount of people use the Internet, the number being 3,366,261,156 people worldwide. That ends up being almost half of the population, the percentage being 46.4% I one hundred percent disagree with the “decision” of the government ridding of the Internet entirely, as if that isn't clear enough already. Though the government might find the termination of the Internet useful in some circumstances, I have no doubt that it may result in riots, violence, protests, and more in order to get it
He emphasizes a crucial example that supports his claim, in which the Telecommunications Act in 1996 hurt numerous companies by the loss of money. In addition the FCC also is not a formidable party that are capable of making careful decision that will not hurt Internet service providers, “The FCC has a minimum amount of technical knowledge about the Internet and thus even when it acts, often misses the mark and can end up in lengthy court actions that an innovative new company cannot survive” (Farber, 2009). He’s concerned that the decisions regarding the Internet will be legislative. Essentially, David Farber’s point is that groups such as the FCC or the Congress who are not completely involved in the changes and events that occur to the Internet should not be able to make major decisions concerning the Internet; the past proves the potential
Officially known as the Open Internet Order, the law was founded on protecting consumers from ISPs blocking and throttling their speeds. When it was introduced, the FCC said they received more than four million letters from supporters of net neutrality. In a document signed in February 2015, Barack Obama wrote, “Today’s FCC decision will protect innovation and create a level playing field for the next generation of entrepreneurs–and it wouldn’t have happened without Americans like you.” Net neutrality was founded on protecting innovation and creating a level playing field for future entrepreneurs. This is why millions of people started supporting net neutrality in the first
“I am concerned that we may succumb to fears about possible dangers to the internet’s future and react with proposals to legislate or regulate its operations” (Farber, 34, 2009) What is known about the internet today, is not what once was. This is one of the main themes found within the article “Network Neutrality Nuances” in the counter section written by David Farber. What Farber aims to do is to give a secondary look at Network Neutrality from his own perspective. With the growing controversy surrounding network neutrality, it becomes beneficial to look at a number of different perspectives if a conclusion to the argument is to be reached.
“Black Code: Surveillance, Privacy, and the Dark Side of the Internet,” written by Ronald J. Deibert, outlines different issues and benefits that have arised due to the growing use of the internet. Deibert begins his essay providing information about the internet such as the rapid growth of smartphones, how the internet has taken over most of societies lives, and key differences between previous technological innovations compared to the internet. He continues his essay by discussing the U.S.A. Patriot Act and how this law should be retracted based on the fact that various companies, like Google, can give the government our personal searches if they ask. Then, he talks about various types of cyber crimes and how we need stronger regulations to control the internet so these crimes would not be possible. Deibert concludes his essay explaining how the internet has provided many benefits in today’s nation, but the internet needs stricter regulations for our own protection.
The internet is an everyday useful and should be freely offered to the public. With the support of the president and the people net neutrality can protect the internet from internet service providers making it fast, fair, and equal to
This completely takes away a person’s right to privacy. The government has access search anyone’s internet or library records. Taking away someone’s right to read what they please also takes away the freedom of writing about controversial topics since anyone who reads it is intimidated by the government (Jacobs and
United States - If you’re American, enjoy the freedom you have while browsing the internet right now, because soon you may have to kiss it goodbye. On Tuesday, November 22, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) foolishly voted 3-2 in favour of undoing net neutrality conventions, (Romano) setting the precedent for companies to abolish the open and free net as we know it today. The mere thought of this is completely preposterous and it utterly violates the principle of equality as well as the freedom of speech of millions of Americans as well as websites. Simply explained, net neutrality is the concept and law that internet service providers must treat all web traffic equally and unbiasedly, and not impede with or obstruct it in any way.
For example, the regulation of internet, that would require internet carries provide online content in a “neutral” way. By any means if a customer wants exclusive content a service should be charged with additional feeds. There is no need to regulate online content but more people should be aware of all the open information on the web. For instance, “imagine that the Food and Drug Administration approved new drugs without ever having tested them on people - that it approved drugs knowing only in theory how they were likely to interact with the human body”. One important regulation not listed is an independent organization conducting evaluations.
Governmental regulations and policy are the foundation for which industries and businesses operate. These directives not only impact