Jina Wickmann
Faith, Ethics, and Political Ideologies Essay
18th January 2018
This is my essay about net neutrality, many hours were spent writing this, hopefully, it is worth reading!
Net Neutrality is a topic that many people tend to overlook. Over the past decade, the internet has been growing with more people using it as a source of information, entertainment, and countless other things. On December 21st, 2010, the Obama administration had taken its first steps towards net neutrality. The whole idea of net neutrality is to have a free open space on the internet where there are no ‘fast lanes’ and no regulated speed across browsers that are controlled by internet service providers – ideally a space for innovation with no setbacks. (Barrett L. Mccormick) With net neutrality, broadband providers have no control over which websites are blocked or slowed down. All online content needs to be treated the same (Seth Fiegerman). However, recently the Federal Communication Commission, has decided to revoke net neutrality on December 14th, 2017. This act is lead by the chairman of the Federal Communication Commission, Ajit Pai who was personally handpicked by Donald Trump. Even though 52% of Americans that voted made up of democrats and republicans disagree with the removal of net neutrality, Ajit Pai is determined to continue with his conservative path of the repeal (Edward Graham). With the United States being a huge influence on the entire world, Singapore also had a look into the repeal. Although Singapore is not greatly affected by the US, it has its own way of controlling net neutrality. This is largely a democrat versus republican decision, because of how heavily Obama had the influence on net neutrality.
Ajit Pai has recently become well known as the chairman of the Federal Communication Commission. Although he has been chairman for almost 11 months, the repeal of net neutrality is the first major action he has taken. His ultimate goal is to “Help consumers and promote competition” (Ajit Pai). He thinks that providers should be able to control traffic prioritization. (Mike Orcutt, Ajit Pai) At first, when he presented the idea, many people were against it, democrat or republican. He continued by explaining the long-term benefits, stating: “The rollback of rules would eventually benefit consumers because broadband providers could offer them a wider range of service options” (Ajit Pai). Many people wonder how the repeal of net neutrality is going to benefit Americans when actually Americans are being stripped from their internet freedom and will possibly need to pay more, which is indirectly linked to more profit for the government.
Ajit Pai has a large political influence, as he was personally appointed by Mr.Trump perhaps wishing for Ajit Pai to take control and move the Republican party further. Despite the fact that the Federal Communication Commision actually has the power to control how much money is being charged for different broadband services, they have stated that they would not use this power. Although many people are doubtful and would not be surprised if it happened to happen. As mentioned, this is largely a democrat versus republican repeal. The movement of net neutrality had come to light by Obama, many people associate net neutrality with him. With Ajit Pai and Donald Trump being republicans, they would naturally seem to go against it since it seems like a very ‘liberal’ act. If this plan is carried out, the US would most likely not be the only country affected. For many years, the US has been a place that is fast paced and in reality a step ahead everyone else. It is likely that countries will consider taking similar action.
Pai relates to elements from ethical absolutism, specifically the self interest theory and altruism. Regardless of culture and religion, Pai has a set of beliefs that he is strongly committed to, and he will try and do what he can to support his actions based upon his beliefs on conservatism. The self interest aspect comes from the fact that even though majority of the United States is against net neutrality, he is anyway carrying on with his campaign. The removal of net neutrality is not something to benefit Americans, it will merely increase the welfare of Trump and himself. The altruism factor is solely based on how close Pai works with the president. The definition of altruism is quite literally to promote someone else’s welfare, even at the cost or risk of ourselves. The repeal of net neutrality is a huge step forward for the Republicans, especially Donald Trump.
As for Singapore, they take a stand that it is based more on the circumstances and contingent on what is the ‘right’ choice. Singapore is neutral when it comes to net neutrality, compared with the US, Singapore lies in between. This is why their perspective is more to ethical relativism. From a consumer’s point of view, Singapore’s ethical belief system is on utilitarianism. Singapore considers majority of the population and the overall happiness of the country. Rather than a split, they try and provide the most convenience for everyone. There is a variation of net neutrality in Singapore, consumers have majority freedom online. However, websites are allowed to be tampered with under the supervision of internet service providers.
The current impression that Singapore is under is that the US is taking on two extreme versions on net neutrality. The campaign in the US is either complete freedom online or strict surveillance. Singapore has laws made in 2011 that have no plans of changing in the near future. Ms.Tanya Tang, a policy advisor at a law firm in Singapore said: “Today, there is no prohibition in Singapore against throttling or paid prioritisation, where these do not harm competition or end users’ interests.” (Tanya Tang). Singapore has elements of net neutrality, however, comparing Singapore to the US is slightly different. Singapore is a small country which is able to have mobile data coverage covered throughout the whole island, unlike the US. Singapore does not have competition on a level which needs to be concerned.
My perspective is largely based on my ethical influence. I believe in having an equal society where regardless of how much you are willing to pay, you should have a right to contribute to the internet just like everybody else. Companies should not have the power to manipulate the internet according to what you pay. What the US is currently doing, is actually removing something that brings people together. The internet is having a larger influence on people as time moves on, net neutrality was an excellent step in having people express their individuality online. My main concern is that, on screen, this looks like a democrat versus republican race when actually they are coming together to avoid net neutrality from being revoked. The underlying meaning behind the removal is really all about finance, the opportunity to earn more money essentially for the government. In the words of Barrett L. Mccormick, “The Washington Politics has been overwhelmed by the naked greed of special interests” and that “This may be the single most greedy, corrupt and damaging action” (Barrett L. Mccormick)
To conclude, I have a strong perspective that taking away net neutrality is not beneficial to Americans at all. The Federal Communication Commission mentions various benefits from the repeal of net neutrality that benefit the profit they will make. I think that the repeal is another way the government of the United States to make more money, a mere financial stunt. As the Federal Communication Commission is made of three Republicans and two Democrats, it is clear that the repeal seems highly likely. Although I am not American, nor affected greatly by this situation, I still consider myself a liberal. I agree with the concept of change and accepting freedom of speech. My perspective is influenced by the fact that even though the majority of Americans disagree with the repeal of net neutrality, the government is carrying on with it – because of how beneficial it will be to them. I identify with the relativism system because I know that people have different ideas of what is right and wrong. I know that I can’t control what some people think is the truth and that every person has their own unique opinion. Different factors mean a different perspective for every person.
Edwards, Haley Sweetland. “Why 2016 Republicans Oppose Net Neutrality.” Time, Time, 13 Mar. 2015, time.com/3741085/net-neutrality-republicans-president/.
Graham, Edward. “Majority of Voters Support Net Neutrality Rules as FCC Tees Up Repeal Vote.” Morning Consult, 21 Dec. 2017, morningconsult.com/2017/11/29/strong-support-net-neutrality-rules-fcc-considers-repeal/.
Leskin, Paige. “Net Neutrality Timeline: 10 Events That Led to Dec. 14 FCC Meeting.”Inverse, Inverse Innovation, 26 Nov. 2017, www.inverse.com/article/38735-net-neutrality-timeline-fcc-meeting.
The Republican-led Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to repeal Obama-era net neutrality protections. The repeal passed along a party-line vote., Seth. “Net Neutrality: Here’s What Thursday’s Vote to Repeal Is Really All About.” CNNMoney, Cable News Network, 14 Dec. 2017, money.cnn.com/2017/12/14/technology/net-neutrality-repeal-explainer/index.html.
Orcutt, Mike. “Donald Trump Could Change the Trajectory of the Market for Streaming Video.” MIT Technology Review, MIT Technology Review, 30 Jan. 2017, www.technologyreview.com/s/603432/what-happens-if-net-neutrality-goes-away/.
