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Opinion

What you should know about #SaveTheInternet

What is net neutrality?
From projecting the problems of the grassroots, highlighting initiatives and innovations to disseminating knowledge and engaging people for a cause, the Internet has been more than just a service. One of the main reasons why the facility has been so successful is that customers have free and equal access to all websites, known as net neutrality.

According to netneutrality.in, a website run by a group of netizens, it is an “idea that internet service providers give their customers equal access to all lawful websites and services on the Internet, without giving priority to any website over another”. Net neutrality is also the Internet’s guiding principle that preserves netizens’ right to communicate freely.

Why is the issue being raised now?
After being turned down in 2012, telecom company Airtel once again proposed in February 2014 that apps like WhatsApp, Skype, You Tube and Line among others should be regulated as they consume more bandwidth. This primarily means that Internet Service providers (ISPs) like Airtel want a share in the profits that these apps and other websites are making.

Due to intense lobbying by telecom operators, in March 2015, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) published a consultation paper to analyse the implications of the growth of Internet services/Apps/over-the-top content and consider whether or not changes are required in the current regulatory framework. The regulator is planning to allow them an extreme violation of net neutrality. If executed, this will not only take away the freedom to access free Internet, but also prevent small businesses from booming.

Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said a committee of six members has been created to submit a report by mid-May on that “on the whole gamut of net neutrality objective, its benefits, advantages and limitations including the regulatory and technical issues.”

Global developments on net neutrality
According to the New York Times, in the US, “The Federal Communications Commission recently adopted strong net neutrality rules that should prevent cable and phone companies from creating fast and slow lanes on the Internet”. This has ensured that all users will have equal access to content on websites. While activists in India are trying to save Internet from the clutches of corporate giants, European Council, a body of 28 countries in the European Union, has adopted a proposal to allow telecom companies to charge Internet businesses like Netflix and Google a fee to deliver their content faster, thus paving a way for preferential treatment.

What can you do?
If TRAI amends regulations to suit companies, it is destined to lead to a situation where some companies could form tie ups with ISPs to allow quicker access to their websites. To prevent the discrimination of Internet content or users being charged differently based on the content or website, savetheinternet.in, a voluntary group of netizens, has put forward a template response to TRAI’s consultation paper. It also allows users to edit their responses before submitting them. The telecom authority has reportedly received over 100,000 emails through the website savetheinternet.in, the deadline for which is April 25. DOWN TO EARTH
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