Internet Neutrality 1

Internet Neutrality World Issue

Jacob Hood
J. Toole
February 20 2015

Internet Neutrality 2

Table of Contents
Preface ____________________________________________________________________ 3
Background ________________________________________________________________ 6
Expert ____________________________________________________________________ 10
Role of Control _____________________________________________________________ 11
Logic of Evil _______________________________________________________________ 15
Case Studies _______________________________________________________________ 18
-China

18

-Turkey

23

-Sri Lanka

26

International Organisations _____________________________________________________ 29

Canadian Connection __________________________________________________________31
Religion/ Spirituality__________________________________________________________ 34
Solutions ___________________________________________________________________ 36
Appendices _________________________________________________________________ 38

Internet Neutrality 3

Preface
Internet Neutrality is a fairly broad term, referring to the idea of keeping the internet a
free and open source for anyone to use, without discrimination, regardless of race, religion,
culture, age or sex. This means that all packets of data can be placed on the internet by any
individual in any place in the world, and freely and easily accessed by another individual,
without discrimination1. This is a kind free press for the internet.2 Right now, there are two
main sources of opposition to internet neutrality. These are major federal governments and major
corporations.
Many corporations are interfering with true internet neutrality, by exercising their power
as a service provider, and limiting access that may have negative effects on that service
providers values, ethics, or most importantly, business. Governments are interfering with true
internet neutrality by limiting their populations ability to access their political oppositions
websites, journals, publications, or any kind of online influence. This is seen in many developing
countries, and is used as a tactic in a governments goal of gaining power through corruption. In
Canada, the population has a fairly open version of the internet.
Canadian Citizens can search for almost anything they want, on the majority of the
world's most popular search engines. This is shown by Google Canadas Mission statement,

Perry&Margoni. Interpreting Network Discrimination in the CRTC. Retrieved from ssrn.com.

Retrieved 2015-02-22.

Tassi, P. (2015, 03 01). The Internet Will Stay Free from Government Control with UN Treaty Blocked. Retrieved
from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2012/12/14/the-internet-will-stay-free-fromgovernment-control-with-un-treaty-blocked/

Internet Neutrality 4
which is, to organize the worlds information and make it universally accessible and useful.3
However this is not the case in the rest of the world today. In many places like China, Russia,
Syria, Ethiopia, Iran and Turkmenistan, the internet is strictly censored, and surveyed by the
Government. This means that the government decides exactly what the people in their country
see, and do not see online. Controlling what a countrys people are exposed to online is crucial to
keeping that population under strict control. Monitoring the county's internet access is also a
great way for countries to see what their population is interested in. When a government controls
access to everything a population sees, and everything they send out into the world, that
government is essentially erasing the idea of a free press online.4 In Canada, the government is
not a major threat to the populations internet freedom; the threat of somebody taking away
Canadas internet neutrality comes from corporations. These corporations are the ones who own
the internet connections we use in our everyday life. Some examples of these companies are
Telus, Bell, and Rogers.5 These companies all have a history of censoring websites that have an
opposing agenda to that of the internet providers. For example, Telus blocked the website of a
union of workers on strike at the company, in order to block support and information coming to
and from the union.6 These companies are taking the free will of the people, and by taking

Chief Executive . (2014, November 4). Googles Mission Statement Evolving as CEO Looks to Future Goals.
Retrieved from Cheif Executive: http://chiefexecutive.net/googles-mission-statement-evolving-ceo-looks-futuregoals
4

Free Press . (2015) Policy and Research Retrieved from

http://www.freepress.net/policy/internet/net_neutrality
5

Canadian ISP . (2015) Find an ISP Retrieved from

http://www.canadianisp.ca/
6
Perry, Mark and Margoni, Thomas, Interpreting Network Discrimination in the CRTC and FCC (net neutrality)
(November 12, 2009). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1504707 or
http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1504707

Internet Neutrality 5
action, and blocking their oppositions websites, blogs, and other critical information of the
company, are corrupting the media system so many have dedicated their lives to keeping pure.
As CGP Grey (A popular and relevant youtube publisher) puts it Not to be overly dramatic
here, but defending data equality may be one of the most important issues in a generation,
because without this rule, internet providers could cripple competitors they dont like.7

CGP Grey. (2014). Internet Neutrality [Youtube Video]. (Available from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtt2aSV8wdw)

Internet Neutrality 6

Background
When examining the issue of internet neutrality, one must first understand how the
internet works, and where it originated. These two items may be difficult to understand at first,
considering the internet had over 50,000,000 Gigabytes in open source information as of August,
20148 and consists of over 2 billion connected machines. However despite this, an understanding
of the internet can be reached.
The way the internet works is very complicated, and would take years of studying to
completely comprehend, although to understand the background on the internet neutrality issue,
one need only have a very basic understanding on how information is shared. Think of the
internet as a series of large, open highways, that can move massively vast amounts of freeflowing data over their paved surface.9 The average internet user does not own one of these
highways, as they cost huge amounts of money to build and upkeep. The average internet user,
instead, has access to a smaller side road, that sticks off of that main highway of information.
It is through these smaller side roads that the average internet user sends and receives the cars
from the highway. Now imagine each of these cars carried a byte box of pizza. If the owner of
the road widens their road, then the traffic of cars carrying boxes of pizza grows; if they let their
road crumble, the traffic in and out slows. This is essentially how data is moved to and from
8

Way Back Machine . (August 2014) size of the internet retrieved from:
http://archive.org/web/web.php

CGP Grey. (2014). Internet Neutrality [Youtube Video]. (Available from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtt2aSV8wdw)

Internet Neutrality 7
different users computers, except that instead of pizza, there are bytes; the things that carry these
bytes are packets, and instead of traffic, we refer to the size of the road as bandwidth. What
many companies like Telus, Rogers, Bell etc. want to do is put in speed bumps in certain lanes
on the highway, so they can control what brand of pizza is getting to your house first. In the
same way, the highway owners or the internet providers, can limit what brand of pizza or
what website, blog, forum, video, journal or anything else on the internet, gets put through to you
fastest, by prioritizing their movement over anybody elses internet traffic. ( See appendix C)
However the internet was not always this way. The internet was first created in 195710 as
an idea. The idea was to connect some of the worlds most complex computers so that
information could be sent to, and fro, without the need for human carriers, in a timely fashion.
Because of the expense, and lack of available technology, the idea was rough, and there were
four versions of this internet. These four versions were the Arpanet, which was focused on
national defence, the Rand network, again for military purposes, the NPL, for commercial use,
and finally, the Cyclades. A network that focused on scientific information sharing. After these
networks started to develop, their main weakness became clear. In 1962, these networks were
centralized. In the event of a war between America, and Russia, a country need only take out the
central control, and the whole network fails. It was because of this that the internet became
decentralized. It was because of this new idea that the modern internet was born. Instead of
computers being centered around one supercomputer, which did all the processing for the
network, individual computers computed their own information, and sent it through the web of
10

History of the Web. (n.d.). Retrieved March 5, 2015, from http://webfoundation.org/about/vision/history-of-theweb/

Internet Neutrality 8
small computers, which were all interconnected, until the information got to its intended point.11
The idea of spreading information quickly, and without discrimination grew more and more
popular, until 1989, when the World Wide Web (WWW for short) was made,12 and anyone with
a personal computer had access to this network. (See appendix D) Suddenly people could share
text, sound, and video, without limitation. With the invention of the modern day internet, the
world was changed. The internet has since then been critical in the development of the Arab
Spring, and in the fight against corruption in the government.13 The internet has already become
the number one catalyst for marches and rallies in North America,14 and continues to be the
fastest growing media in the world. (See appendix F) As soon as the internet started to grow
exponentially, the whole world wanted a piece of it. Currently, there is a battle raging over
whether or not corporations and/or the government will be in control the internet, and how it
moves packets of data around (currently the internet is controlled, neutrally, by a small group of
14 impartial people.)15 However extremely recently, a major battle has been won against the

11

World Wide Web @ 25; Internet @ 45 years old in 2014 - See world's first website. (2014, March 12). Retrieved
March 5, 2015, from http://www.finfacts.ie/irishfinancenews/article_1027409.shtml
12

History of the Web. (n.d.). Retrieved March 5, 2015, from http://webfoundation.org/about/vision/history-of-theweb/

13

Wihbey, J. (2013, September 25). The Arab Spring and the Internet: Research roundup. Retrieved March 5, 2015,
from http://journalistsresource.org/studies/international/global-tech/research-arab-spring-internet-key-studies
14

Markovic, B. (2013, March 18). Will the Internet Remake Politics? - Fair Observer. Retrieved March 5, 2015,
from http://www.fairobserver.com/region/north_america/will-internet-remake-politics/

15

Reporter, M. (2014, December 3). Guardians of the internet: The 14 people who control the security of the world
wide web and literally hold the KEYS to the internet. Retrieved March 5, 2015, from History of the Web. (n.d.).
Retrieved March 5, 2015, from http://webfoundation.org/about/vision/history-of-the-web/

Internet Neutrality 9
corporations that have been pushing for this. The FCC has passed a bill that recently gave the
citizens of the internet the ability to regulate the internet like a public utility 16 so that large
companies may not speed bump the internet, or create toll booths for internet users to pay
for while surfing the internet.
With a simple understanding of the internet, how it is run, and the history of the utility,
one can now have a more in-depth understanding on how important it is, and how crucial net
neutrality is to a safer, and ever changing world.

16

FCC votes in favor of regulating the Internet like a public utility. (n.d.). Retrieved March 5, 2015, from

Internet Neutrality 10

Expert
Tim Wu is an American politician. He was Law clerk for Judge Richard Posner, 7th
Circuit Court of Appeals in 1998-1999, the chairman of free press from 2008- 2011 and is the
man who coined the term net neutrality.17 As an expert in the topic, he has been dealing with
net neutrality for over ten years, and has a level of professionalism, which is unparalleled by
many others who are involved in the net neutrality issue. He has often been called the father of
net neutrality.18
Tim Wu has been a part of the team that is fighting for net neutrality since 2003, and has
said No blocking, no fast lane slow lane gimmicks. No messing around. There are various
ways to get to that. Whats clear is that the forbearance authority is strong and its been used
quite a bit.18 Wu is saying, believes that the FCC should make a decision about scrapping
Title II or section 706, which is a part of a bill being passed that would give companies the
possibility of owning the internet and controlling how and what information is sent to and
from peoples computers and servers. Wu honestly believes the best way we can keep the
internet free, is it keep it with the people, and out of corporate and government hands.

17

18

Tim Wu. (2015, January 1). Retrieved March 5, 2015, from http://www.law.columbia.edu/fac/Tim_Wu

Shatz, A. (2014, October 7). A Q&A With Tim Wu, Father of Net Neutrality, on What the FCC Should Do.
Retrieved March 5, 2015, from http://recode.net/2014/10/07/a-qa-with-tim-wu-father-of-net-neutrality-on-what-thefcc-should-do/

Internet Neutrality 11

Role of Control
Control is a huge reason internet neutrality is an issue. Adolph Hitler once said, He who
control Europe, controls the world.. Well Icann (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names
and Numbers) would disagree, when they put forward a modern day idea that sounds a lot like he
who controls the internet, controls the world. The person, government, or company who gains
unlimited, powerful control of the internet, will simultaneously gain the power to influence the
minds of hundreds of millions. The internet is currently open source in countries like Canada,
America, Britain, France, Germany19. Although that is not the case for many countries like
China, Russia, and Egypt. All of these countries have within the last 30 years, had some sort of
uprising, or rebellion. Currently, relative control of the internet is held by a powerful 14 people,
who have pledged to stay impartial in any political, or commercial interest.

In George Orwells 1984 Big Brother has total control over a third of the world's
population, so much to the point that the entire world has been brainwashed to blindly follow
their leader. One way that the government (Big Brother) watched the population, is through a
primitive version of today's internet20. Telescreens can watch what we are doing, and we can
watch the propaganda on the telescreens. This story is not as unrealistic as one might first think.

19

20

OpenNet Initiative. (n.d.). Retrieved March 5, 2015, from https://opennet.net/

Telescreens from Orwell's 1984 meet 21st century technology. (2011, January 22). Retrieved March 5, 2015, from
https://geeldon.wordpress.com/2011/01/22/telescreens-from-orwells-1984-meet-21st-century-technology/

Internet Neutrality 12
In Cuba, there is said to be 3 television channels. All of them have Castro making speeches.21
The equivalent to this happening in Canada would be every website you can access would hold
nothing but the all-powerful image of a mighty great leader, and the words he has blessed this
earth with. Any discontent would be watched through the computer's built-in webcams, and all
citizens would be held in a constant state of fear, as they are constantly being watched.
Canadians would become like slaves to our leaders because all our online information would be
tainted beyond repair. Bias would become the norm, and people would cease to see any other
perspective than the government's perspective. Mankind would lose its curiosity, and with its
curiosity, its human nature. The struggle for power is enormous. With this generation learning
how to use an ipad, before learning to ride a bike, online influence may actually have a higher
amount of influence than parents or even school.22 Imprinting, dangerous or partial views on
young minds like these may be detrimental to a successful, curious, future generation.
In the last five years, there have been over 30 rebellions in different countries around the
world, with the majority of these rebellions centered around the Middle East and North Africa.
Out of the 20-30 separate countries that have had recent rebellions, or civil war, over 80% of
them are in the top 40 (See appendix A) most corrupt internet censorship countries in the
world.23Governments of these countries realize how important the internet is to opening up the
corruption of its politics, and the way they treat their people.When a suppressed population has
access to the internet, they can share their views and experiences with the world, and the world

21

Morrison quote.
Hanman, N. (2005, November 10). Growing up with the wired generation. Retrieved March 5, 2015, from
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2005/nov/10/newmedia.media
22

23

OpenNet Initiative. (n.d.). Retrieved March 5, 2015, from https://opennet.net/

Internet Neutrality 13
can do something to change the negative things happening to that suppressed population.
Because the internet imposed such a large threat to the government, the government will do
whatever possible, by its own means, to control this inlet/outlet of information. This is why the
struggle for control is so great when it comes to the internet.
Currently, there are 14 people with the power to change the world forever. These people
each hold a key.24 This key, when combined with the other keys, can shut down the internet,
reboot it, or even wipe the whole thing. These people are a group of people, who like to be called
Icann. Each member must be a special expert in internet security, secretly chosen, and voted
upon by the existing group, and sent a message, before joining this non-partial clan of
people.22 Once a person is granted entry, they are given a metal key, which gains that person
access to a metal deposit box somewhere in the world which holds a smart card which, when
combined with 6 other cards, has the ability to make a another electronic key. Of these 14 souls,
there are 7 immediate controllers while the other 7 are backup, in case a key is lost, stolen, or
destroyed.25 Twice a year, every owner of the keys, buys him or herself a plane ticket, and meets
once on the east coast of the USA, and once on the west coast of the USA. The seven
immediate controllers combine their cards into a machine, which gains them access to a
checkup of the internet. They then drink coffee, eat pizza, converse about the internet, and fly
home to re-do their experience again in 6 months. These are the people who control the internet.
However, despite their power, they have no political or economical personal gain. Each and
24

Ball, J. (2014, February 17). Retrieved March 5, 2015, from

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/feb/28/seven-people-keys-worldwide-internet-security-web

25

Bort, J. (2014, March 1). The Internet Is Actually Controlled By 14 People Who Hold 7 Secret Keys. Retrieved
March 5, 2015, from http://www.businessinsider.com/the-internet-is-controlled-by-14-people-2014-3

Internet Neutrality 14
every one of them is shrouded in secrecy, and anonymity. These people are some of the few who
actually work for the worlds gain, and not just their own.26 They are the watchmen of the
internet community.

26

Stampler, L. (2014, March 1). This perplexed looking British man has a key to the internet. Retrieved March 5,
2015, from http://time.com/27682/key-to-internet-pail-klane-british/

Internet Neutrality 15

Logic of Evil
The logic of evil for those who oppose internet neutrality can be separated into three
sections. Government control, corporate control, and moral guidelines. These three sections are
all different, and so have to be observed with the utmost open mindedness and respect, as this is
still a current world issue, with people having opinions on both sides of the story.
Corporate control is possibly the logic of evil most easy to understand. Many internet
providers, like Bell, Rogers, Nexicon, and Shaw (to name a few) have their own private interests
in mind, and so if net neutrality was lost, they would be the ones who gain the most
economically27. However with the free flow of data now controlled by corporations, it would be
the public who paid the most not only economically, but also socially. (See Appendix B)
Government control of the internet is an issue that the majority of the world's reporters
are not freely allowed to write about, which is ironic considering that the only way for most of
them to spread their information it is over the internet. Anonymously, or with their name,
through an encrypted line, to a reporting centre where it can be uploaded for the world to see.28
Last year, there were more reporters being censored in corrupt countries, a reporter's free in the
world. Many governments would love to keep it that way. Almost all countries in the world have

27

Shields, T. (2015, February 26). U.S. bans Internet providers from blocking or slowing web traffic in landmark
net neutrality ruling. Retrieved March 5, 2015, from http://business.financialpost.com/2015/02/26/u-s-nears-ban-oninternet-providers-from-blocking-or-slowing-web-traffic/?__lsa=ae21-10a6

28

Crdenas, J. (n.d.). Organized Crime and Corruption. Retrieved March 5, 2015, from
https://cpj.org/reports/2012/04/organized-crime-and-corruption.php

Internet Neutrality 16
a incriminating secret they would rather no one knew.29 And it is many political reporters jobs
to find and release those secrets to the world. What many governments, like Turkmenistan, Iran,
and China, are currently doing is monitoring the internet for any leaks, or criticism of their
political party, values, or negative information, blocking that website to the people of their
country. In this way, those governments are keeping their population in the dark about their
corrupt political agenda, and so the population will not be able to respond in the same way a
country of free press might be able to. The issue of information freedom really goes back to the
Greek empire, in about 399 B.C, when Socrates, (was) sentenced to drink poison in 399 BC for
his corruption of youth and his acknowledgement of unorthodox divinities.30 Today, reporters
may not be forced to poison themselves, possibly because public hangings are often more
intimidating.
A point of view not often examined by those surrounding the net neutrality issue is the
moral side to the law. If governments, and/or corporations controlled the internet, then many
moral issues about the internet may be addressed. Currently, the internet is open sourced,
meaning anyone, anywhere, can post anything, without discrimination. However this means
many evil things like child pornography, corrupt government propoganda, and brutality
intimidation videos (like those put up by ISIS) are posted, along with the things like social media
updates, funny videos, and cats playing piano. Government, or corporate control of the internet,

29

Gertz, B. (2015, February 2). China's Secret Strategy Exposed. Retrieved March 5, 2015, from
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/chinas-secret-strategy-exposed/
30

Newth, M. (2010, January 1). On Censorship. Retrieved March 5, 2015, from

http://www.beaconforfreedom.org/liste.html?tid=415&art_id=475

Internet Neutrality 17
would mean that if the controlling party had a strong moral compass, less of these evil things
would stay on the internet.31 Internet censorship would possibly be used in a good way for once.

Although people may be quick to accuse, and rarely criticize their own self, once another
perspective is looked upon open mindedly, one may be able to observe the logic of evil, in a way
that they can understand where that evil is coming from, and how the evil is justified in ones
mind. However since what one person deems as moral may be seen as immoral by another,
possibly opposing party, then perhaps the best way to keep the world satisfied might be to keep
the internet as it is.

31

Siegel, J. (n.d.). ISIS is Using Social Media to Reach YOU, Its New Audience. Retrieved March 5, 2015, from
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/31/isis-s-use-of-social-media-to-reach-you-its-new-audience.html

Internet Neutrality 18

Case Studies
China
China is a world power, with the second largest economy in the world, is a
permanent member of the UN security council, and is considered a developing country by its
own leading officials.32 Along with this, China is the world's largest internet user, with over
648.75 million people having access to and using the internet in 2014.33 However despite all this,
Chinese internet censorship is at an all time high, with websites, blogs, files and search engines
all blocked in an attempt to control the populations access to foreign nations and ideas. China is
considered one of the oldest nations in the world, dating back to 1500 B.C.34 The country's
current president is Xi Jinping, and the country is officially named The People's Republic of
China.
Internet censorship by the Chinese government has plagued the population ever since the
popularisation of the internet in China, around the late 1990s.35 Today Chinas censorship of
this media has a name that is slightly more appealing than Chinese Internet Censorship. The
name is referred to by Chinese residents, quite comically as The Great Firewall of China. The

32

Stone Fish, I. (2014, September 25). Is China Still a Developing Country? Retrieved April 1, 2015, from
http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/09/25/is-china-still-a-developing-country/
33
China: Number of internet users 2014 | Statistic. (2015, January 1). Retrieved April 4, 2015, from
http://www.statista.com/statistics/265140/number-of-internet-users-in-china/
34
History Timeline. (n.d.). Retrieved April 5, 2015, from http://www.chaos.umd.edu/history/time_line.html
35
James, R. (2009, March 18). Chinese Internet Censorship. Retrieved April 5, 2015, from
http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1885961,00.html

Internet Neutrality 19
Firewall was first initiated in 1998 under Project Golden Shield,36 a Chinese effort to control
the online impression of the world on Chinese culture and values. The operation was set up
under the then popular Chinese saying of the time, If you open a window to let some fresh air
in, you better expect some flies to come in as well.37 What the population was led to believe at
the time, was that those flies were negative, and usually immoral things such as drug
trafficking websites, virus providers, and child pornography bases. However the government had
also meant to block out anything that had to do with democracy, capitalism, or otherwise
contrary ideas and beliefs that might hamper the government's iron grip over its people.38

While there have been positive effects of this firewall, the negative effects have been
overwhelming. Currently, Chinas average income is 6,807.40 USD a year per capita, which puts
China as 57th in the world, out of the 72 countries not considered to be in utter poverty. While
this is by no standard outstanding, the economic situation in China has been a major success
within the last few years, with a middle class starting to emerge from the countrys lower class
factory workers. A part of this emergence of a middle class has been accredited to the
entrepreneurs who have been creating small startups, with the aims of lining their pockets and
bringing innovation to the old way of Chinese life. Many of these entrepreneurs income depends
greatly on their ingenuity, and innovation, in order to stay ahead of the big corporations. Today,

36

How China's Internet Police Control Speech on the Internet. (n.d.). Retrieved April 6, 2015, from
http://www.rfa.org/english/commentaries/china_internet-11242008134108.html
37
P, P. (2011, May 1). Torfox. Retrieved April 6, 2015, from
http://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs181/projects/2010-11/FreedomOfInformationChina/category/great-firewallof-china/index.html
38
Bao, B. (2013, April 22). How Internet Censorship Is Curbing Innovation in China. Retrieved April 6, 2015, from
http://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/04/how-internet-censorship-is-curbing-innovation-in-china/275188/

Internet Neutrality 20
there is enough information on the internet to cover 3.6 billion pages of 8.5x11 pages of paper.39
Out of all that information, approximately 34% of that data is blocked by the great firewall.40
This lack of access to information by the Chinese people has severely impacted the populations
ability to innovate. In order for the people to access these websites, a person must first use a
VPN or proxy to gain access to the internet from outside the firewall. Both of these options are
illegal, take time and money to accomplish and are not very realistic for many of the small
business owners in China. It was estimated that approximately 10% of an entrepreneur's income
is lost in these efforts.41 That 10% cuts deep into a small business's profit margin, and can make
owning an innovative startup almost impossible for the Chinese people. This being said, China
has 600 times as many small businesses as Canada, even though China is only 40 times bigger in
population.42

Zhang Wei is a small bike repair shop owner in Yiwu, with a personal story that provides
an example of how the censorship has made an impact on his profit. One night Zhang was
brought a new bike that someone had brought over to China from America, which had a broken
frame, and needed to be fixed. This is a big job! Zhang thought; he knew he could make a lot
of money from this foreigner's bike. So Zhang took the bike in, with the promise of having it
fixed in two days, for a hefty price. Zhang knew nothing about this kind of bike, and knew very
39

The size of the World Wide Web (The Internet). (n.d.). Retrieved April 6, 2015, from
http://www.worldwidewebsize.com/
40
What Is Deep Packet Inspection? (2012, June 1). Retrieved April 6, 2015, from
http://www.pcworld.com/article/249137/what_is_deep_packet_inspection_.html
41
Bao, B. (2013, April 22). How Internet Censorship Is Curbing Innovation in China. Retrieved April 6, 2015, from
http://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/04/how-internet-censorship-is-curbing-innovation-in-china/275188/
42
Shane, S. (2010, March 12). If You Want to See Entrepreneurs, Go to China. Retrieved April 6, 2015, from
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/mar2010/sb20100311_996919.htm

Internet Neutrality 21
little about the kind of material the bikes frame was made out of. So Zhang decided to go search
the internet for ways of repairing the kind of material that the foreigners bike is made of.
However, many of the websites like Youtube, Google, and perhaps the capitalists companys
websites have all been blocked by the Chinese government. Faced with two choices, one is to
return the bike (unrepaired) to the foreigner, or risk doing the repair with limited knowledge on
how to fix it properly. Being the entrepreneur Zhang is, he decides to take a risk and try it
anyways. Unfortunately for Zhang, his welding torch melts and disfigures the foreigners carbon
fiber bike frame, and now Zhang must pay almost a years wages for a new bike frame for his
customer.43 Zhang is just one of the millions of entrepreneurs hurt by this great firewall, and
although he isn't the first, he most definitely will not be the last.

Internet Neutrality is the internet equivalent of free press, a subject not valued by the
Chinese government at all. The country is infamous for putting journalist in prison who openly
opposed the government. Having jailed 30 journalists, and 68 internet users in 2012 alone. China
was considered the second worst country in the world for the free ability to share and process
information among its peers in 2012.44 On the political scale, China is considered very left
socially, and fairly left economically by the rest of the world,45 which means that the
government has more control over business, social aspects, and media then say Austria or
Hungary. The country has a history of making enemies of the state disappear and has not

43

Entrepreneurship y startups en EEUU. (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2015, from

https://es.scribd.com/doc/117596251/Entrepreneurship-y-startups-en-EEUU
44
China. (2012, May 2). Retrieved April 3, 2015, from https://freespeechfreepress.wordpress.com/china-2/
45
Chinas Political Spectrum. (n.d.). Retrieved April 6, 2015, from
http://www.thechinastory.org/yearbooks/yearbook-2013/forum-politics-and-society/chinas-political-spectrum/

Internet Neutrality 22
only done this on a small scale, one person at a time, but also in large purges, where several
hundred people may be killed, or imprisoned within a short period of time. An example of this
would be the infamous Tiananmen Square massacre in which hundreds, if not thousands, of
students and workers were killed when the Chinese military opened fire on people protesting for
a proper democracy. Even after the protest, the government kept covering up any information
about the incident, and 25 years later, is still jailing people who speak out about the unjust
massacre.46

Internet users of the world's largest country by population are being starved of their basic
rights to information, and as a result have lost a large amount of independence, innovation, and
money because of the Government's refusal to open the internet up, and to allow all of those who
want to use the information they want, and need, to succeed.

46

Branigan, T. (2013, June 3). Tiananmen square protests and crackdown: 25 years on. Retrieved April 6, 2015,
from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/03/tiananmen-square-protests-crackdown-25-years-on

Internet Neutrality 23

Turkey
Turkey is a country located in the crossroads between Europe and the Middle East. The
country is considered the oldest country in the world, with its roots dating back to the Anatolia
people groups of 2000 B.C. The country evolved into the Ottoman empire, which was split up
into different regions after the First World War. After an uprising against its allied occupiers, the
country gained independent status in 1922.47 The country now has a population of 75.8 million
people.48

Turkey is the 49th least free country in the world information wise, according to the free
press index.49 This has caused many issues for the country, specifically in the country's politics,
by eliminating freedom of speech. Speech restriction are usually reflective of social acceptance of an
act in a society. These social norms are different for every country in the world. In the United States, the
first amendment allows for almost complete freedom of speech. There is a software being used at homes
and libraries, to provide additional social protection (sometimes called Cyber Nannies) which might, for
example, filter out any content or nudity, aggression, or violence.50

47

Christopher Webber, Angus McBride (2001). The Thracians, 700 BCAD 46. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176329-2.
48
WPR. (2014, October 19). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/turkeypopulation/
49
Press Freedom Index 2010 - Reporters Without Borders. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from
http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2010,1034.html
50
Bar, And). New Media & Development Comm. Freedom of the internet in Turkey. Retrieved April 7, 2015,
from http://www.columbia.edu/itc/sipa/nelson/newmediadev08/Freedom of the internet in Turkey.html

Internet Neutrality 24
However in Turkey, the government decides what is acceptable, and what is not
acceptable for the public eyes, and it enforces its decision with an iron fist. In 2014, 18 protesters
were killed for anti-government protests, and hundreds were injured by soldiers trying to break
up crowds with water cannons, tear gas, and gunfire.51

The government uses its suppression of the internet to do good and bad alike. It applies
an IP block wherever it deems fit, which may be overtop of the opposition's main website, over a
foreign country's propaganda, or over the competitor of a company that's willing to pay a bribe
for an internet monopoly.52 This has many moral issues, as well as political ones which has
created a magnificent amount unrest in the the country, with protest growing more and more
frequent in day to day life. Turkey however hopes to control these protests53 by even stricter
control of the internet, so that protests may not be organised over social media websites, like
Twitter, or Facebook.54 In fact, Turkey filed five times more requests than any other nation in the
world for different tweets sent from inside Turkish borders to be taken down in 2014.55

51

Butler, D., & Frazer, S. (2014, March 31). Turkish police crackdown on demonstrators on anniversary of antigovernment protests | Toronto Star. Retrieved April 7, 2015, from
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/05/31/turkey_pm_warns_of_crackdown_on_anniversary_of_antigovernm
ent_protests.html
52
Democracy in Crisis: Corruption, Media, and Power in Turkey. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from
https://freedomhouse.org/report/special-reports/democracy-crisis-corruption-media-and-powerturkey#.VSNHgfnF_Us
53
http://www.insightturkey.com/turkey-and-the-arab-spring-between-ethics-and-self-interest/articles/194
54
Twitter and Facebook are the new weapons of Middle East protest | The National. (2011, January 8). Retrieved
April 7, 2015, from http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/twitter-and-facebook-are-the-new-weaponsof-middle-east-protest
55
Removal requests | Transparency Report. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from
https://transparency.twitter.com/removal-requests/2014/jan-jun

Internet Neutrality 25
Turkish cultural influences have a major impact on the ideas of keeping the internet in the
hands of the government. While most Turks agree the internet is something for the people, not
the government to run, the majority also believes that the government should hold a measure of
control over the internet to keep immoral images, blogs, and posts away from the fingertips of
the people.56

With 99.8% of the Turkish population Muslim,57 the countrys preferred idea to have
strict laws about how the behaviour of the population must act is very clear. Since 1938 dictators
have ruled over Turkey, starting with smet nn,58 and ending with today's dictator, Akif
Hamzaebi59 all of which have ruled Turkey successfully as dictators, through complete control
of their population thought through media and socialisation.

However even today, Turkish people are using the internet more than ever before, which
is a sign of change for a country that seems to have fallen from the ranks of the world's most
prosperous countries. (see Appendix E)

56

Orsal, O. (2014, February 20). Turkish police clash with protesters over Internet laws. Retrieved April 7, 2015,
from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/turkish-police-clash-protesters-internet-laws-article-1.1698593
57
Religion in Turkey, Islam, early Christianity, Judaism, Jews. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from
http://www.turizm.net/turkey/info/religion.html
58
Jan Zrcher, E. (2002, October 1). The Young Turks Children of the Borderlands? Retrieved April 7, 2015,
from https://web.archive.org/web/20080112074140/http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/tcimo/tulp/Research/ejz16.htm
59
Ankara. (2015, January 9). Hrriyet Daily News | Haber Detay. Retrieved April 7, 2015, from
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/erdogans-presidential-system-model-equals-dictatorship-turkish-mainopposition-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=77624&NewsCatID=338

Internet Neutrality 26

Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is a developing country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent, a
country that was a part of the Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial rule, gaining
independence in 1948, and becoming the Republic of Sri Lanka in 1972. The country went
through a time of civil war and unrest, before relatively stabilising in 2009. The country has a
population of 21.6 million60. Sri Lankas media is also under strict government control.61

Sri Lanka has a high degree of control over its people. It does this by many means, one of
the most successful being the control of the country's media. The country provides the television
networks, radio channels, and has a strict censoring of the internet access. Currently, internet
freedom is becoming more and more oppressed in this country. In 2012, there was an
introduction of a new law that now allows the government to take away and cover up any
information if the said information is found to beharmful to the state. This has caused many
journalists who are reporting on the country's corruption to be thrown in prison, because their
work has been deemed a threat to the state under the protection from terrorism act.62

Maran Nagarasa is a journalist who lived and worked in Sri Lanka, reporting about the
political and economic corruption of Sri Lanka. When his colleagues started disappearing
60

De Wulf, M. (2015, January 1). PopulationPyramid.net. Retrieved April 7, 2015, from

http://populationpyramid.net/sri-lanka/2090/
61
Sri Lanka - Reporters Without Borders. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://en.rsf.org/sri-lanka.html
62
Sri Lanka. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2013/srilanka#.VSNSfPnF_Us

Internet Neutrality 27
suddenly in 2009, he started to worry. These were his friends whom which he lived and worked

with for years at a time, who were suddenly gone. His worries were confirmed when his friend
Tarakis body showed up outside his apartment building, badly beat up, and shot in the head.
Taraki was like a brother or uncle to me, Maran said. Soon he too started receiving death
threats from his government. After packing his things up, and saying goodbye to his family, he
decided to settle his accounts, and move to Canada where he could report more freely about the
corruption of the Sri Lankan government, and what they had done to his friend. Upon arrival to
Canada, he was jailed as an illegal immigrant, and considered a terrorist. He now lives in exile,
in India, were he can write reports about the Sri Lankan government for the people, that
unfortunately, are almost immediately blocked by the Sri Lankan government before his articles
can do any good63. The only way for any of the 21.6 million people in the nation will ever see
Marans work, is through a VPN.64

Unfortunately, Sri Lankas position on internet neutrality, is that it just shouldn't exist. With new
laws being enacted to suffocate the public from outside sources about the corruption of the
government, the Sri Lankan people will have to create a grassroots type movement if they wish
to overthrow, or change the corrupt government currently in place. Internet neutrality is being
shunned by the government, and because of this, the people are suffering. With an average salary
of just 7700 dollars a year, Sri Lankan full time workers will tend to make far less money than
even just a part time student in America making minimum wage working at a fast food
restaurant65.
63

Sri Lankan journalist aboard the Ocean Lady jailed before given refugee status | Toronto Star. (n.d.). Retrieved
April 7, 2015, from
http://www.thestar.com/news/atkinsonseries/2014/09/22/sri_lankan_journalist_aboard_the_ocean_lady_jailed_befor
e_given_refugee_status.html
64
Sri Lanka Telecom. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://www.slt.lk/business/enterprises/networkingservices
65
Salary Survey. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://www.salaryexplorer.com/salarysurvey.php?&loctype=1&loc=204

Internet Neutrality 28

International Organisations
International organisations almost everywhere acknowledge that internet access and
internet freedom are things that all humans have a right tor access. Organisations that support
this ideas range from the United Nations to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. All of these
organisations share the idea that, The internet should be transparent, and people should be kept
accountable.66

As of July 6, 2012, the United Nations has declared that internet access has become a
basic human right, that leaders must promote and facilitate access to the Internet and
recognizes the global and open nature of the Internet as a driving force in accelerating progress
towards development in its various forms.67 This was the first time a document about the
freedom of the internet has been officially applied to every country in the world, so that 193
countries and their populations may all have equal rights to the highway of information on the
internet. The UN justified this new human right, by making internet freedom similar to free

66

Defining Internet Freedom. (2015, March 12). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from
http://copyrightalliance.org/2015/03/defining_internet_freedom#.VSNgGPnF_Us
67
O'neil, L. (2013, September 19). U.N. declares internet freedom a basic human right - Your Community.
Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/yourcommunity/2012/07/un-declares-internet-freedoma-basic-human-right.html

Internet Neutrality 29
press, and declaring that tainting the internet would be the same as blacking out, or controlling
exactly what the press can print.68

Aside from the United Nations, there have been other world organisations that have
decided that internet neutrality is a good idea, and a necessity to the modern day population. One
of these such organisation is the Global Network Initiative. GNI is a non-governmental
organization working towards two goals the first being to prevent Internet censorship by
governments, and the second to protect Internet privacy rights for individuals. Founded in 2008,
in the 60th anniversary year of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, GNI works to make
sure that the documents standards of human rights, freedom of expression, and privacy rights
are used in the modern day world, for instance on the internet. GNIs base of support is very
large, stretching from corporations like Google, Microsoft and Yahoo to non-profit organisations
such as the Center for Democracy and Technology, Human Rights Watch and World Press
Freedom Committee, and education powerhouses like the University of Hong Kong, Harvard
University, and University of Southern California.69

Along with GNI, there are other organisations centered around keeping the internet
neutral, and free of bias to all its users. These organizations include the Electronic Frontier

68

Official UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights Home Page. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Introduction.aspx
69
Fighting for Internet Freedom: Five Organizations. (2010, December 7). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from
http://www.care2.com/causes/five-organizations-fighting-for-internet-freedom.html

Internet Neutrality 30
Foundation,70 Global Internet Freedom Consortium,71Save the Internet,72 and many more, which
all share the aim of making the internet an open source, transparent place, where people can post
whatever they want, without discrimination.

Canadian Connections
Canadas connections to internet neutrality are stronger than almost any other country in
the world. Canadian spends more time online per person than any other country in the world.
Canada is ranked first in the world for time spent online, with the average citizen spending 45.6
hours a month online,73 compared to the average American citizen spending just 40.3 hours a
month online. Canada is also ranked as the 18th best country in the world for a fair
representation of data by Reporters without Borders.74 Because of this, Canada has a place on the
internet, where its people can access whatever they please, and so it is our responsibility to share
that ability with the rest of the world.

Recently, the Canadian government, however, wrote a bill known as bill C-51, an antiterrorism bill, which is aimed to, among other things, 'remove terrorist propaganda' from the
internet. This would give the government the ability to remove anything they deemed a threat to

70

Electronic Frontier Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from https://www.eff.org/

Global Internet Freedom Consortium |. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://www.internetfreedom.org/
72
Save the Internet. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://www.savetheinternet.com/sti-home
73
Canucks Rule The Web: Report. (2014, January 1). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/01/22/canada-worlds-heaviest-internet-users_n_2527319.html?
74
World press freedom index 2014. (2014, January 1). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from https://rsf.org/index2014/enindex2014.php
71

Internet Neutrality 31
national security.75 What is deemed a threat to national security however is up to the
discrimination of the government. This bill ultimately gives the government power to remove
anything it doesn't like from the internet, terrorism propaganda or not. If the government doesn't
like it, it's blocked from the eyes and minds of the Canadian population76.

This sort of law can turn extremely dangerous, extremely fast because, for now at least,
terrorism does not have a universally accepted definition77. After all, when it's the government
who is making all the calls in what is terrorism and what is not, and then enforces what it feels
like on that subject, a law like this can be easily twisted so that government can claim someone is
guilty of a crime, and act upon that claim, without even a fair trial.78

In Canadas charter of rights and freedoms, article 2 (b) reads, Everyone has the
following fundamental freedoms: freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including
freedom of the press and other media of communication. This is perhaps Canadas strongest
case for keeping internet neutrality centre focus for the government. By signing an article, that

75

Schwartz, D. (2015, February 1). Bill C-51 aims to 'remove terrorist propaganda' from internet - Technology &
Science - CBC News. Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/bill-c-51-aims-to-removeterrorist-propaganda-from-internet-1.2938935
76
Dyer, E. (2015, January 7). Canada backs internet 'direct democracy' abroad, but faces questions at home.
Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-backs-internet-direct-democracy-abroad-butfaces-questions-at-home-1.2892023 Stewart, B. (2015, February 10). Ottawa's anti-terror, corruption crackdowns
show the problem with rushing in. Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ottawa-s-antiterror-corruption-crackdowns-show-the-problem-with-rushing-in-1.2950755
77
Definition of terrorism in English:. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/terrorism
78
Geist, M. (2015, March 24). A Conversation About Bill C-51: How the Anti-Terrorism Bill Undermines
Canadian Privacy - Michael Geist. Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2015/03/aconversation-about-bill-c-51-how-the-anti-terrorism-bill-undermines-canadian-privacy/

Internet Neutrality 32
says that Canadians can express whatever they want, however they want, and any media, Canada
is basically agreeing not to censor any ideas and beliefs that they may find as wrong but
someone else may consider right. In agreeing to this article, they must allow internet
neutrality, should they wish to comply to the charter of rights and freedoms, they the government
has set up.79 Even in Canada, a place thought to be free of corruption and open to new ideas, the
internet is being restricted, and peoples rights are being stepped on.

79

Dyer, E. (2015, January 7). Canada backs internet 'direct democracy' abroad, but faces questions at home.
Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-backs-internet-direct-democracy-abroad-butfaces-questions-at-home-1.2892023

Internet Neutrality 33

Religion/spirituality
Religion and spirituality do not play as prevalent a role in the acts against internet
neutrality, as say something like the government corruption by means of money. However, just
like every other major global issue, religion and spirituality does play a role that must be
analysed carefully. For example, in some countries, the internet may carry some information,
words, or pictures that can be taken as immoral or even sacrilegious to a certain people group.80

In almost every major religion in the world, many sexual acts are considered unclean
and so a government which is primarily composed of that religion, may decide to make such
action illegal, and hide information, blogs, pictures, videos, etc from the population by blocking
the websites that provide it. For example, in the Christian holy book, The Bible, there are
verses that exempt things like adultery, divorce, and gay marriage from being considered as
good and pure. And so an authoritarian government primarily composed of practicing
Christians, would be more inclined to use internet censorship to block things like pornography
websites, pro-gay marriage blogs, and blasphemous videos, and media.81

80

Stratford, H. (2006, January 1). Internet and Religion. Retrieved April 7, 2015, from
http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/religion_web.html
81
UK "Porn Filter" Triggers Widespread Internet Censorship | TorrentFreak. (2014, July 2). Retrieved April 7,
2015, from https://torrentfreak.com/uk-porn-filter-triggers-widespread-internet-censorship-140702/

Internet Neutrality 34
In other parts of the world, a government may be based upon another religion, like Islam.
The government with the authority to control may take away the internet from female
households, or block any religious websites of another people group point of view, which may be
blasphemous, or simply contrary to Islamic belief.

However, there are other things that a radicalist group may do with authoritarian control
over the internet.82 In the Islamic state, internet access is reportedly quarantined to a specific few,
and these militant radicalists have been most successful recruiting foreigners by the internets
long reaching arm, than they have been through terror in another country.83

With all that being said, religion and spirituality have not all been negative for internet
neutrality. In many countries, like North Korea, China, and Turkey, the internet has been the
only way to get copies of religious text for a religion into that country. This is usually
accomplished via a VPN, or secure landline that is separate from the government.84

Religion and spirituality have created impacts on the subject of internet neutrality; while some
have been negative, there is always a silver lining on the matter.

82

Larasson, G. (2014, October 7). Islam and the Internet - Islamic Studies - Oxford Bibliographies. Retrieved April
7, 2015, from http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195390155/obo-97801953901550116.xml
83
Sophisticated online recruiting techniques used by ISIS will be difficult to stop, experts say. (2015, February 13).
Retrieved April 7, 2015, from https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/canada-politics/online-isis-recruitment-efforts-ofwesterners-181800875.html
84
Why Choose Vision? (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://internetbiblecollege.com/about/why-choose.html

Internet Neutrality 35

Solutions
The solution for solving the problem of internet neutrality is a complex and multi-step
plan which would take years to develop, and be implemented. However there are some ways that
go a little bit quicker, which may help solve this issue on a worldwide scale.

First, the world needs to hear about internet neutrality, the world needs to be educated on
the issue and its importance. This information can be spread by word of mouth, over television
networks, radio channels, and of course the internet, so that the subject is thoroughly explained
to the masses. It must be done in such a way that it is in depth enough so that there are no
loopholes left out, but also in a simple enough way for the entire population to understand what
the issue really is.

Starting local is the first thing that needs to happen, should there be a realistic change to
the way a government handles the issue. Perhaps the best way to start the motion of fixing this
issue is for people to write to their leadership, sign petitions, and make it clear that internet
neutrality is something desired by the masses. And to denying a fair internet, is to deny the UN
Declaration of Human Rights.

Internet Neutrality 36
After the ruling power understands that internet neutrality is something the people want,
and something they deserve, the government must have continued pressure put upon, not only by
its people, but by other pro-internet neutrality governments, so that the ruling power is forced to
fix these problems.

After this step, the next logical step would be for a world organisation (preferably the
United Nations) to define internet neutrality, and have a complete definition, and plan of how
internet neutrality should be implemented, signed by all members of the organisation. With the
documents signed, the countries now have made an official commitment to following these
guidelines, and they should be kept accountable.

While the steps may be many, and the time to waste limited, internet neutrality is
becoming lost for the human race, and it is something we must take steps to keep, if we wish to
prosper in the future.

Internet Neutrality 37

Appendices
Appendix A

Political Corruption- World Map. Digital image. Http://map.opennet.net/. 1 Jan. 2014. Web.

Internet Neutrality 38

Appendix B

Netflix Download Speed America. Digital image.

Http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5393b876eab8ea12047e11ab-744-413/netflix-40.jpg. 1
Jan. 2015. Web.

Internet Neutrality 39

Appendix C

How The Internet Works. Digital image. Http://s.hswstatic.com/gif/internet-diagram.gif. 1 Jan.

2014. Web.

Internet Neutrality 40
Appendix D

InternetTIMELINE. Digital image. RSWA. 1 Jan. 2007. Web.

Internet Neutrality 41

Appendix E

Ong, Nengeng. Internet Usage By Language and Growth 2000 - 2007. Digital image.
Http://www.usjournal.com/en/educators/erecruit/08/3dchart.jpg. 1 Jan. 2007. Web.

Internet Neutrality 42

Appendix F

Internet Users Worldwide. Digital image. Open.edu. 1 Jan. 2013. Web.