What Is The Impact Of Net Neutrality On Privacy

PRIVACY

It is evident that the development of technology has greatly benefitted humanity. In particular the development of cyberspace and the Internet have given a great boost to the simultaneous movement of globalization and has helped create a virtual bridge in the physical space between people. However, there are numerous concerns with respect to the rapid growth of technology and the incapability of humans to tackle the harms arising out of it. One such concern is that of privacy in cyberspace. The existence of data in a fluid space that can easily be accessed by people at any point in time from any corner of the world has troubled a number of people and has resulted in apprehension in the usage of the same. Furthermore, the NSA scandal

In order to ensure that net neutrality is maintained, or in the event that it is violated whether to secure competition or otherwise, there is a corresponding violation of privacy as well. For example, Network Service Provider (“NSP”) Verizon enters into a contract with Netflix whereby Netflix provides entertainment-streaming services at the cost of $30 per month. Customers of Verizon will be able to stream Netflix at a speed greater than Hulu even though Hulu may provide the same services at a cost of only $10 per month. In order to do this, it becomes essential for the NSP to monitor what kind of data the user requests. Verizon, then has to keep track of the information demanded by its customer to identify whether it is provided by Netflix or Hulu and in the event it is provided by Hulu either block or slow down the website. Further, Verizon can also then redirect the customers to access Netflix, which not only violates competition laws and the right to choose, it is also a flagrant violation of the privacy of the customer. This is the premise on which the entire argument against violation of net neutrality is based. In order to provide the ideal service to the customer as envisaged by the NSP, the NSP will have to monitor the customer’s communications and usage of the

According to this principle, the NSP must do what its customers reasonably expect it to do. In general, customers expect that the NSP will secure their privacy rights and ensure that communications are protected along with maintaining confidentiality about the same. This could include not just protection against dissemination of information but also protecting the existence of the communication itself. It therefore becomes essential for an NSP to uphold the trust imposed on it by its customer by ensuring that it protects the privacy of the customer not only from external sources but also internally by the NSP itself. This would mean that the NSP should not be allowed to monitor the communications and usage in any manner whatsoever- a concept utterly undermined by implementing traffic