Net Neutrality

The idea was developed in the early 2000s due to the Federal Communications Commission’s(FCC) attempts to force internet providers to share their infrastructure with other companies. This regulation never went into effect due to the Supreme Court preventing the law from going into effect. Then, in 2015 under President Obama, net neutrality laws were enforced to ensure that ISPs provided the same speed and traffic for every consumer. However, three years later under President Trump, most of these laws were repealed.

Net neutrality laws have many upsides, and these ideas are supported by the Democratic party in the United States. For example, smaller companies are more likely to enter the market by disallowing ISPs to determine the speeds that consumers can access specific websites. Without net neutrality laws, ISPs would offer faster plans for companies' websites, and so the new companies would not be able to afford the more expensive and faster plans like the established companies could. Other advocates for net neutrality argue that ISPs are like public transportation companies or utility companies, and thus should be required by law to not discriminate against their customers.

Net neutrality laws also have many downsides to them, and the rejection of these laws is supported by the Republican party in the United States. As a result of forcing ISPs to have equal traffic for everyone, many argue that ISPs will no longer innovate and people will not invest into new infrastructure, like fiber optics. Without the proper funds to create new infrastructure, companies may not want to develop and implement it if they cannot provide faster plans at a more expensive rate. With these regulations in place, many ISPs argue that they will not gain the proper funds to grow and to innovate.

Internet Censorship

Censorship of the press has been around for centuries. Countries would prevent what their citizens were seeing for their own political gain. Modern press censorship is internet censorship. This censorship is implemented during times of political interest like riots or elections to alter the result. The borders of countries are much easier to pass through via the internet rather than the physical borders of countries. People can publish an online article in one country, and readers can view the article in another. This is thus the reason why countries censor the information that is being shown to their citizens.

The two major ways countries use internet censorship is in politics and in the economy. Internet censorship is used by countries very frequently to alter or to change the outcome of certain political events occurring in their country. An example of an increased use of internet censorship was during the Arab Spring. The extent of the censorship is dependent on the country. Countries like North Korea and Cuba have high amounts of censorship by the country. Internet censorship does not just occur at a national level, it can occur at an international level as well as a domestic level. For example, schools block certain websites from their students that are deemed inappropriate for school use.

Internet censorship can be done in a variety of ways. Countries can blacklist certain words, domains, and IP addresses to prevent the viewer from viewing the website. Another way of censoring information is at the source of the information. Consumer devices can be required by law to have censorship devices, social media companies are forced to block certain content, ISPs can be required by law to implement censorship devices as well. All of these methods are used to reach a greater goal. To maintain control or to change the outcome of something, and is something that many groups around the world fight against to ensure that people’s natural rights are maintained.

Digital Divide

Digital divide is the lack of internet access in some areas when compared to others. Around the world, there is a growing deficit between those who have access to the internet and those who do not for various reasons. This is a massive issue as in the 21st century, we all speak, share information, and learn through the internet, so without the internet one is at a great disadvantage compared to others around them. Oftentimes the people who do not have internet access are in tough financial situations and cannot afford it causing them to lack the resources they need to be successful in this modern era.

Income is a major factor in the growing gap between those who have access to the Internet and those who don’t. People with a lower income cannot afford personal devices, and these people tend to live in low income areas that lack the infrastructure for Internet access. Companies do not want to invest in these areas because there is a lack of incentive and customers available for their products causing the divide to grow even more. In addition, race plays a major role in the growing digital divide as well. Typically, White households use computers about 40% more than that of Hispanic and Black households. The racial divide is seen even in schools where areas with minorities are less likely to have computers available for them than in other areas with less minorities. The different minorities also have other reasons for why they lack computers. In a study, scientists found that Hispanic households believe computers take away from family time and are not necessary and African-Americans have had poor experiences with new technologies in the past and thus struggle to embrace computers.

Education is a major reason why we should lessen the digital divide in America. For example, a study by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration(NTIA) describes that people who have a college degree are 10 times more likely to have internet access than those with a high school diploma. Without access to the internet, those with poorer levels of income are unable to gain a higher level of education necessary to get out of the poor financial situation they are in due to a lack of technology available for them.

In order to solve this issue of digital divide, the government must promote universal access for everyone of all income levels and build an infrastructure for the Internet in the poorer and more rural areas. Additionally, Community access centers must be developed and maintained with the proper staff to provide a reliable place where one can access the Internet. Finally, the attitude towards technology must be changed to have parents realize the need for the Internet in order for their child to be successful in the growing digital world.