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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Internet set to choke or become free?

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US regulators are gearing up for a vote on a plan which -- depending on your viewpoint -- would “restore internet freedom” or, alternatively, result in “the death of the internet” as we know it.


The Federal Communications Commission will consider a rollback of its 2015 order aimed at enforcing “net neutrality,” or the notion of treating all data and content providers equally.


FCC chairman Ajit Pai last month unveiled the plan, the latest twist in a dispute over more than a decade, with both sides claiming to promote a “free and open” internet.


The plan would reverse the rules adopted two years earlier which ban broadband providers from blocking or throttling rivals.


Pai, named chairman by President Donald Trump, said the 2015 rules “depress investment and innovation”.


Critics of the existing rules say they rely on 1930s-era rules which could, in theory, lead to price regulation and other burdens.


But net neutrality backers argue the rollback will enable internet service providers (ISPs) to shut out rivals. They say some ISPs in the past have tried to force users to their own search engines or block online calling services such as Skype or Vonage, or require a premium for Apple’s FaceTime video calling.


The Pai proposal “will lead to a dramatic transformation of how the internet works,” said Sarah Morris, who heads the New America Foundation’s Open Policy Institute.


“The threats to our ability to navigate the internet and go to every corner of it are at risk” if the Pai plan is adopted, she said.


New York Times columnist Farhad Manjoo wrote that “the freewheeling internet has been dying a slow death” and that the FCC actions “would be the final pillow in its face”.


Senior executive vice-president Bob Quinn of AT&T, one of the large broadband firms which has lobbied and sued to block earlier FCC regulatory efforts, said apocalyptic predictions are wrong.


“AT&T intends to operate its network the same way AT&T operates its network today: in an open and transparent manner,” Quinn said.


Michael Powell, head of the trade group for major broadband firms NCTA — The Internet & Television Association, said member companies have agreed to respect principles to “satisfy their customers’ desire to visit any lawful website or run any lawful application.”


But some are not mollified by these assurances, arguing that broadband is largely controlled by a handful of firms, including AT&T, Verizon and Comcast.


Critics say broadband firms would be able to extort higher fees and limit access for new startups if the proposal is adopted.


But University of California economist Michael Katz argues this is a basic business principal at work. “The logic of net neutrality would also argue for banning e-commerce sites from purchasing faster delivery from Fedex or UPS, or from offering free shipping,” Katz said in a research paper.


Large tech firms like Google, Facebook and Netflix oppose the FCC draft rules, arguing that ISPs could effectively cut off or limit user access to some services.


But with political and public sentiment shifting against Silicon Valley in recent months, Pai has turned the tables by blaming the large tech platforms for limiting consumer choice.


“These providers routinely block or discriminate against content they don’t like,” Pai told a recent conference.


“The FCC is on course to eliminate net neutrality guided by a record corrupted by hundreds of thousands of filings with stolen identities (and) close to half a million comments from Russian e-mail addresses,” said FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who opposes the Pai plain.


“No vote should take place until a responsible investigation is complete.”


An FCC spokesman said the vote “will proceed as scheduled on December 14.” —AFP


Rob Lever


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