The Conservative government in all their wisdom will not support net neutrality “because it wants to protect the competitive position of businesses that offer internet access”. If you’re not familiar with what net neutrality is, it basically means anyone or company that pays the ISPs will have its websites loaded faster.
This article on CBC goes into detail well and explains things better than I could, it’s definitely worth a read!
“These documents reveal that in Canada, the industry minister and his policy people appear unlikely to provide Canadian Internet users with similar protections to those being offered in the United States,” Michael Geist, law professor at the University of Ottawa, said Tuesday.
Big content providers like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft are dead set against scrapping Net neutrality, saying it would destroy the free and open nature of the Internet and also create a tiered, dollar-driven Net that favours the wealthiest corporations over everyone else.
I’m rather surprised that net neutrality generates little buzz in Canada considering how connected we are. If this change goes through, it can potentially (and probably will) change the way you and I surf the internet. Looks like the Conservative government is looking out after big business yet again over the backs of the people.
For the first time ever, I find myself on the side of Microsoft on this one. The Internet is great because it’s Free (note the capitalisation). If we move toward a tiered system, the most important elements of the internet will die: non-profits & NGOs, Free software development, community projects, political organisations.
It’s insane.
Sadly, I’m not surprised by the lack of interest by the public. People only get mad when they they’ve lost something. One guy here in my office seems to think that if Net Neutrality dies, “someone will just invent a better Internet”… riiiight, that’s exactly what we need. Competing Internet carriers.
I would not be a Capitalist, I would be a man;
you cannot be both at the same time.
– Eugene Debs
Haha Daniel and Microsoft getting along? 😉 I totally agree with you but wonder what recourse the citizens can do. You think we should start a writing campaign or stir up crap like they do in the US? Once neutrality is gone, I think it’ll be impossible to get back so Canadians really have to act now. 🙁
Hasn’t that wool been pulled over our American cousins’ eyes already?