Government attempts to control Internet

The Internet has become such an integral part of daily life. Between smartphones, laptops, and computer labs the average person is rarely unplugged for very long. In fact, every time Gmail, Twitter or Facebook goes down, even if just for a few minutes, there is a massive uproar. To further illustrate the point, several European countries and even the United Nations have continually referred to "broadband access" as a political right.

Now, just imagine if your Internet was slowed down to a maddening or even crippling speed … or if your Internet access was shut off for years. That's right. No usable Internet, at all. 

Well, unfortunately, this is creeping closer and closer to reality. Congress is reviewing the "Internet Freedom Act," which is neither free nor beneficial to the Internet.

The list of contributions indicates that telecommunications companies and big business heavily back the bill. If passed, the bill would allow Internet service providers to discriminate between different "types of internet usage." Instead of paying for neutral and flexible Internet (the way the FCC regulates now), the consumer would be forced to pay premiums for voice over IP (Skype), video downloads and streaming (Netflix), gaming (PlayStation 3 and Xbox) or even charge differently based on types of Web sites accessed. Obviously, the telecommunications companies favor such a bill because it would give them the legal means both to discriminate based on content and the freedom to cap Internet usage and forcibly slow your connection if you use a high percentage of your bandwidth speed for more than 15 minutes. Such actions have previously been ruled as illegal, and the FCC has foiled Comcast's prior attempts. 

It seems utterly ridiculous for your ISP to slow or even disrupt your connection for using the speed that you are paying for! Data usage should be viewed neutrally. One Gigabyte of Skype should cost the exact same as 1 GB of video or 1 GB of browsing.

Unfortunately, little public knowledge or attention has been focused on the issue.

Potentially more troublesome is an international treaty that is being circulated within the inner chambers of several countries (including the United States). The "Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement" is aimed at restricting the flow of copyright material on the Internet.

Although I am not in favor of illegal content distribution, the treaty's measures are draconian, if not downright tyrannical. Notably, the treaty forces ISPs to proactively police copyright on user-contributed materials.

In essence, this would make it unprofitable to run sites like YouTube or Flickr. The amount of manpower required to ensure compliance would massively outstrip any budget. 

More importantly, the treaty is inherently undemocratic and violates judicial norms. Treaty members (and thus the ISPs within those countries) would forcibly remove any content that is accused of violating copyright laws, even without any evidence or even a trial. Even more troubling is a section that would ban a user who has been accused of violating copyright three times. Remember, this does not mean "has been found guilty" but only that the individual has been accused, no evidence or trial required. The ISP will then add the person to a "universal ban list" that would make it illegal for any ISP to provide the user with Internet for several years, and in some cases a "lifetime ban" could be enforced.

Because they cannot ensure that a specific individual was the "culprit," the treaty would allow ISPs to ban entire family accounts.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of treaty politics, no public debate or transparency is necessary. The Senate is required to ratify the treaty, but that is the extent of democratic accountability. 

In the end, this is not a business-versus-government debate; it is consumers versus unaccountability. Conservatives and liberals alike should be in favor of Internet neutrality and checks and balances. A public debate on Internet use is needed, not rubber-stamped measures that openly flaunt democratic norms and the rule of law.

As you play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 or check Facebook this weekend, remember that without action it won't take much to end your Internet forever.