Net Neutrality Disadvantages

The debate over internet regulation has seen an uptick in activity over the last two decades and for good reason. With 3 billion users currently connected to the internet– a number expected to grow substantially over the coming years with connectivity expanding to the developing world– the repercussions of internet regulation could have significant consequences for most of Earth’s population. Therefore, both the advantages and disadvantages of net neutrality– the principle that all internet traffic should be treated equally by network owners, and not obstructed or accelerated base on its type or the identify of senders and recipients– deserve a thorough review so that ensuing policies promote innovation, competition, and optimal delivery of

Net neutrality keeps the barriers to entry for new websites and applications low, which has allowed the creation of “innovative online services” such as Google, Twitter, Netflix, Amazon, and Facebook. Small companies already face enough barriers to operations and growth, so if larger competitors can buy faster delivery speeds that start-ups cannot afford, the fairness gap will amplify even more. For example, if a new travel website is purposely made to load slower than Kayak, impatient customers will give up on the new website, causing it to fail. Consequently, there will be fewer competitors in the travel industry which is bad for the consumer as the monopolist will have greater control over prices . Moreover, broadband providers with a monopoly position have a strong incentive to block market entry and innovative technologies that threaten their existing business model, therefore, they may be tempted to interfere with services that compete with their own products. For example, cable companies may want to slow down services such as Netflix that compete with their paid television service, or telephone companies might want to interfere with internet telephone services such as Skype. Without net neutrality, ISPs would be able to speed up content they own or slow down rival’s content. As a result, further consolidation of companies may follow as businesses will want to buy out competitors so that they own as much content as possible. In addition to ensuring a fair playing field among businesses, net neutrality encourages free speech. Without it, internet providers can block websites they do not agree with which would prevent consumers from making their own decisions about content. This could have significant consequences on how people gather their news and could severely limit the diversity