Net Neutrality

The original founders of the internet, and subsequently, the wide-wide-web, envisaged equality in terms of how and when network data should be routed around the networks.

Recently, the large media streaming services and some internet service providers have lobbied governments in the US and Europe (including the UK) to allow certain data to be routed with a higher priority than other traffic. The services would decide which traffic would be routed and when.

Arguments have raged for many years about this, with proponents of net neutrality wanting the internet to remain free of control of data, especially by big corporations and governments. On the other side, many companies want control to enhance network transmission speeds and to generate extra sources of income.

Service providers claim that they need to do this to ensure optimum network speeds in the face of ever-increasing video traffic and to ensure a high quality of service for their customers. The providers often say they would charge a premium to eliminate waits/buffering of video by placing a higher priority on such traffic across their networks. Consider revenue for internet service providers and quality of service for customers.

Supporters of Net Neutrality claim internet traffic should be free to move around, unhindered or interfered with. They also argue that the internet would become only usable to those able to afford the higher costs of guaranteeing their traffic would be transmitted. Here, consider the paying public and society in general

Develop arguments to determine whether the internet should be controlled on behalf of internet services providers (ISP) or not.