NET NEUTRALITY

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Context

• Over the past few months, various stakeholders have been debating payment of a fee for network infrastructure created by cellular operators. This has reignited the debate around net neutrality.

What is net neutrality?

• Net neutrality is the principle that internet providers treat all web traffic equally.
• In this an internet service provider (ISP) provides access to all sites, content and applications at the same speed, under the same conditions without blocking or giving preference to any content.

Concern raised

• If there’s no net neutrality, internet service providers (ISPs) can discriminate against websites or services and regulate what users can and can’t see.

Pros and Cons of Net Neutrality Laws and Regulations

Pros

Level playing field:

• Net neutrality laws mean that no one with more money receives special treatment. 
• Without net neutrality, ISPs can slow down the websites or services of small businesses that can’t afford to pay for the so-called fast lanes.
• The same goes for small creators, whose main source of income is their YouTube channel. None of them would be able to compete with large corporations.

Freedom of expression and free speech:

• ISPs shouldn’t be able to block content or slow down webpages just because they don’t like them. 
• With no net neutrality legislation, nothing stops them from censoring online content. This, however, doesn’t include illegal content.
• With or without net neutrality, the censoring of such content falls on the shoulders of law enforcement agencies.

No exclusion:

• Net neutrality guarantees that everything on the internet is available to everyone. 
• If accessing high-quality content online becomes a luxury only wealthy people can enjoy, this will increase social exclusion and decrease equal access. 

No additional costs for content:

• Without net neutrality, ISPs can charge companies for improving services like faster video streaming, online gaming, etc.
• If this happens, these companies will transfer their new financial burden on to the users.

Greater innovation

• Eliminating net neutrality would stifle innovation and add barriers to entry for smaller companies. If ISPs pick their favorites, new companies and technologies might never be able to grow.

Cons

No one is paying for the data:

• With net neutrality, users only pay for the service, not the data they consume. 
• Video streaming services were responsible for 57% of the bandwidth used worldwide in 2018. Customers who use less bandwidth may not want to pay for the infrastructure needed to support high-bandwidth activities.

Illicit content is widely available:

• Offensive, dangerous, and illegal content is accessible to everyone and difficult to remove. 
• Removing net neutrality makes it easier for ISPs to filter dangerous content, although this is one away from censorship.

No new infrastructure:

• If ISPs can’t charge more for their services, they can’t invest in their infrastructure. With net neutrality, large amounts of data are consumed without being paid for – this money could be used to expand the high-speed network to rural areas.

The internet can innovate without it:

• Many innovations took place in the absence of net neutrality regulations. Some net neutrality opponents also argue that there was a significant growth of the internet and relatively little wrongdoings without net neutrality.

India’s stance

• Mechanisms for establishing rules ensuring Net neutrality in India, are at present mainly enforced by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). At present, there are no specific legislation regarding Net Neutrality in India.
• But India's fight for net neutrality began in 2015. In 2016, TRAI passed the "Prohibition of Discriminatory Tariffs for Data Services Regulations, 2016", prohibiting telecom service providers from levying discriminatory rates for data.
• Telecom operator Airtel was forced to withdraw a plan to charge extra for internet calls, and shut down a platform called Airtel Zero, which allowed customers to access a few mobile applications for free.
• Facebook and Google, were also forced to abandon their zero-rating platforms and deals.
• In 2018, The Department of Telecommunications made rules, approving the recommendations from TRAI, which heavily favoured net neutrality in India.
• These rules barred any form of data discrimination. Internet service providers which violate these rules may have their licenses cancelled. The rules make an exception for "critical IoT services" or "specialized services" such as autonomous vehicles and remote surgery operations.
• According to India, the net neutrality principle is considered a cornerstone of a free and open internet that provides equal access to all and bans "any form" of data discrimination.

MAINS PRACTICE QUESTION Q. Net neutrality principle is considered a cornerstone of a free and open internet that provides equal access to all and bans "any form" of data discrimination. Do you agree?