My
blog has focused on the most prevalent concerns for the internet thus far, but
little on what makes the internet great. I would like to look into the reasons
why these concerns are such a big deal, and it is entirely because the internet
is a big deal.
The
internet has connected the world. A fair and uncensored internet allows anyone
to view anything anyone else made, from anywhere. This means that opinions from
around the world are heard everywhere. This is especially helpful in the case
of perspective of those from other countries. Since we can interact with, watch
videos of, etc. of other people, we realize how similar everyone in the human
race is. The internet is unintentionally fighting things like racial prejudices
because of this, and also empowering anyone to feel that they have a voice.
There
are several potential obstructions to these amazing powers that the internet
presents to us. The issues of censorship and lack of fairness can remind us of
how “for hundreds of years, courts and governments have struggled over the
duties that carriers like ferries, railroads, or telephone companies owe to the
public by virtue of their necessity to economic and social welfare.” (Lee, 61) This
can give us inspiration that, so long as we continue to weigh out all of the
potential issues of the ways we manage the internet, we will continue to
provide as great a social value with the internet as possible. For this to
happen however, we need to have our voices heard loudly when the controlling
factors such as governments and ISP’s want to change the way the internet
works, to tell them that we want to ensure that the power of the internet only
increases and is never degraded by biases or greed.
Sources:
Lessig,
Lawrence. "The Internet under Siege." Foreign Policy 127
(2001): 55-65. Print.
Cheng, Hsing
K., Subhajyoti Bandyopadhyay, and Hong Guo. "The Debate on Net Neutrality:
A Policy Perspective." Information Systems Research 22.1 (2011):
60-82. Print.
"Network Neutrality." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Nov. 2013. Web. 16 Dec.
2013.
"Net Neutrality: A Solution in Search of a
Problem." National Taxpayers Union -. National Taxpayers Union, Web. 16 Dec. 2013..
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