Ravi+S’s+OpEd+Article

The state of the internet, it’s bad. Over the past few years the internet has been getting worse and worse. The good old days of the internet being free are coming to a close.

David Cameron’s (Prime Minster of United Kingdom), internet block/filter for “pornography”, sounds great from a quick glance, “Let’s protect the children from explicit material”. There are a few problems with this, the first being the filter isn’t perfect and blocks legitimate websites. Websites such as TorrentFreak, a news site which reports on things such as piracy and things related to the internet was blocked under this filter. TorrentFreak doesn’t host or show explicit content, it is the same as any other news site, yet it was still blocked. The “Sex Education” filter also blocks services such as ChildLine. ChildLine doesn’t contain pornographic material, it is a service that is setup to help kids with abuse, bullying, divorce, pregnancy, etc. A filter that is supposed to “protect children”, stops them from getting help if they need it. Also under the “Sex Education” filter was “gay and lesbian lifestyle”, people wanting to be informed about this, were blocked. Homophobia, discrimination? The second problem with this filter is that it is the first step to internet censorship. If the Government and Internet Service Providers have the power to completely block certain websites, what is going to stop them from only allowing websites that benefit them monetarily? Sites such as Google, Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. would eventually have to pay the government/ISP to get their sites unblocked. Many ISPs have their own streaming services which compete with Netflix. Who or what is going to stop them from outright blocking Netflix, forcing the consumer to use the ISPs terrible service. The third and final problem with this filter system is, the account holder has to “Opt in” to view pornographic material. Who wants to call their provider and ask them to turn off these filters? That’s going to be a bit of an awkward conversation. Don’t worry though, the call may be recorded!

The internet is becoming slower and slower, but technology is getting better and better. As more and more people start using the internet, the “internet highways” are getting congested, and now ISPs are complaining and want the most frequently used services to pay them, or have the consumers pay more. “Internet highways” getting congested wouldn’t have been a problem if the major ISPs had actually used the money they had been given with the ’96 Telecommunications Act, and improved the infrastructure. ISPs are now setting artificial limits on internet usage. Verizon for example, has been throttling connections to Netflix, making the Netflix experience terrible for anybody using Netflix. Verizon also owns Redbox, a competing service to Netflix, throttling Netflix falls under “net neutrality” (All internet traffic must be treated fairly and the same)”. Now Verizon wants Netflix or the consumers to pay them more money to use the service. Verizon also wants people who fully use their internet, and get every last “drop” of what they pay for, to pay more because “It’s only natural that the heavy users help contribute to the investment to keep the Web healthy(CEO Verizon)”. It is only natural that people who actually use the service they pay for, to pay more for it.

With the somewhat recent invention of Google Fiber, Kansas and a few other select cities/states have been enjoying the internet how it should be, fast and cheap. Google Fiber gives speeds of up to 1Gb/s, Time Warner in Ventura and many other places across the country only has up to 100Mb/s, and even more places experiencing slower connections. Google Fiber is around 10 times faster than Time Warner/Comcast/Verizon/Charter, and costs less than any other service. Google Fiber is great for the consumer and small businesses, but lobbyists from the competing services want Google Fiber banned from spreading, because it is “unfair’. Instead of improving infrastructure like they were supposed to with the ’96 Telecommunications Act, they would rather block Google from helping the consumer, and rake in even more cash.