Global Context
The government has attempted to regulate the content we see on the web within the past few years. The two bills mostly known revolving around the focus on creating measures to decrease online piracy are the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protected IP Act (PIPA). Both bills would have allowed the Attorney General to obtain a court order to have a service provider prevent access to its subscribers in the United States to a “foreign infringing site” by reasonable methods such as removing the DNS (Domain Name Server) records of the website. It would have also prevented websites to put links to alleged sites as well and prevented payment companies from transmitting money to them (Magid 2012). Should SOPA or PIPA have passed, they would have created an “internet blacklist”, which may have prevented foreign start-ups from prospering in the United States and damaging our ideas of freedom of speech and freedom to information.
Most recently, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed a new revision towards how internet service providers (ISPs) what they can charge content companies. Specifically, ISPs would be allowed to charge websites “for faster and more reliable delivery of their traffic to users” (Reuters 2014). If these legislations pass, many people fear that this will create a social class within the internet, allowing only those with the economic ability to access content sites such as Netflix, Facebook, or Google and that these sites will also be forced to charge fees on their consumers for reliable speeds. Another concern is that it will prevent small start-ups from getting noticed and prospering within the internet. Currently these legislations have been approved and are waiting for public opinion before it proceeds any further.
Most recently, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed a new revision towards how internet service providers (ISPs) what they can charge content companies. Specifically, ISPs would be allowed to charge websites “for faster and more reliable delivery of their traffic to users” (Reuters 2014). If these legislations pass, many people fear that this will create a social class within the internet, allowing only those with the economic ability to access content sites such as Netflix, Facebook, or Google and that these sites will also be forced to charge fees on their consumers for reliable speeds. Another concern is that it will prevent small start-ups from getting noticed and prospering within the internet. Currently these legislations have been approved and are waiting for public opinion before it proceeds any further.