Description
85C (2021) Group Assignment: Net Neutrality
Net neutrality is a contentious issue in media policy, and continues to be debated actively. Consider what you learned in class about older and newer media networks, and about network effects: our 85c lectures, screenings, and readings have informed you about historic and contemporary perspectives on the stakes online. On one side, you have the basic principle that all Internet traffic should be treated equally. On the other side, you have arguments that certain internet uses (online gaming, streaming video, file sharing, etc) might place disproportionate burdens on net service providers that require financial investment and technical innovation.
This group project will have you team up to research, present, and debate the most salient aspects of net neutrality. Documenting each of the three steps will earn your group academic credit in this class. Each step will take place partly in the 85C discussion sections and partly in between meetings.
Each 85C discussion section will be divided into three groups for this project. Group 1 will research, present, and debate the major arguments in favor of net neutrality based on general principles; group 2 will take the position of industry lobbyists arguing against the principle of net neutrality with particular attention to technical investment and innovation; and group 3 will argue against net neutrality for specific political cases.
Group 1: Explain the promise of net neutrality from basic principles. Don't assume that people know how complex the issue is; refer specifically to the resources provided below. What would the absence (or repeal) of net neutrality mean to individual internet users, to online news and journalism, to politics and education, to videogaming and to music streaming, to other kinds of online culture? Argue from fundamental values and seek to defend them against the attacks laid out for the other two groups.
Group 2: You are telecom industry lobbyists, so need to convince people to reject net neutrality based on the needs of for-profit internet service providers to continue investing in innovative technology to keep up with the explosive growth of online traffic. You may want to defend the technical abilities (including traffic shaping, pre-caching favored content, throttling other data etc) that allow cable and phone companies to operate internet services profitably, including by taking payments for premium service from the big content providers and big advertisers. You may try to argue that this allows you to reduce the cost of your services, which would otherwise need to be more expensive for the end user.
Group 3: You are politicians who argue that internet service providers need to have the ability to throttle or block certain data, for instance to prevent malicious actors spreading disinformation on YouTube or TikTok, to prevent dangerous viral deepfakes on Facebook from derailing elections, and to prevent large-scale file sharing online because you believe it is mostly illegal circumvention of copyright. You are also concerned that certain online activities are a significant burden for the internet that takes bandwidth away from other traffic, so your arguments may present gaming and file sharing as unequal burdens on the network and its expected quality of service.
Each group will use the week two discussion section to start researching the resources provided, and to prepare a persuasive presentation for the following week (but you will probably want to continue doing some of this work between meetings). Each five-minute presentation in the week three discussion section will be debated with the other groups; to make this possible, presentations need to be both very succinct and very well informed. Your group's grade on this assignment depends on your preparation, presentation, and discussion performances, so make sure all members of your group contribute in ways the TA can recognize.
After your presentations and debates, each student needs to upload a brief document (use DOC or PDF format to upload to Canvas) that states your name and student ID#, picks one representative quote from one of the relevant readings (a different one for each group member!), one sentence explaining that quote in your own words, and one or two sentences providing your argument or spin on this quote and its importance.
Resources
News:
Makena Kelly, "Democrats are gearing up to fight for net neutrality (Links to an external site.)" The Verge (Mar 9, 2021)
Tejas Narechania and Erik Stallman, "Challenge to California net neutrality law should be dismissed (Links to an external site.)" The Mercury News (Mar 9, 2021)
Shira Ovide, "The long, painful path of net neutrality (Links to an external site.)" New York Times (Feb 25, 2021)
Cecilia Kang, "California Wins Court Victory for its Net Neutrality Law (Links to an external site.)", New York Times (Feb 25, 2021)
Nikil Patel, "HBO Max won’t hit AT&T data caps, but Netflix and Disney Plus will (Links to an external site.)" The Verge (Jun 2 2020)
Klint Finley, "The WIRED Guide to Net Neutrality (Links to an external site.)" WIRED (May 5, 2020)
Aaron Sankin, "The Six Worst Net Neutrality Violations in History (Links to an external site.)" Daily Dot (Dec 14, 2017)
Jeremy Gillula, "T-Mobile’s Binge On Optimization is Just Throttling, Applies Indiscriminately to All Video (Links to an external site.)" EFF (Jan 4, 2016)
Brian Fung, "Is T-Mobile degrading online videos and violating net neutrality? YouTube thinks so (Links to an external site.)" Washington Post (Dec 23, 2015)
Marvin Ammori, "T-Mobile is likely violating net neutrality (Links to an external site.)" Slate (Dec 15, 2015)
Jeffrey Chester, “The End of the Internet? (Links to an external site.)” The Nation (February 13 2006)
Readings:
Congressional Research Service - The Net Neutrality Debate: Access to Broadband Networks (Links to an external site.) 2021
Congressional Research Service - Net Neutrality: The FCC’s Authority to Regulate Broadband Internet Traffic Management (Links to an external site.) 2014
Open Internet Advisory Committee - Annual Report (Links to an external site.) 2013
Federal Communications Commission - Preserving the Open Internet (Links to an external site.) (Federal Register vol 76 #185, September 23, 2011)
Fun short video:
Leaked - The Internet Must Go (Links to an external site.)
Technical examples:
Explanation & Answer
View attached explanation and answer. Let me know if you have any questions.
Running head: NET NEUTRALITY
1
Net Neutrality
Name
Institutional Affiliation
NET NEUTRALITY
2
Net Neutrality
The internet has been one of the more modern phenomenon features. Years ago, it would
be unrealistic to imagine a platform that would facilitate information sharing and
communications to the magnitude the internet supports. A lot of information is shared online
continuously. The unrestricted nature of the internet provides problems in a lot of circles. Like
any other industry or facet of life, the internet should have regulations on the kind of content
shared on the platform. There should be no net neutrality on the platform. Therefore the network
should not be neutral so that resource allocation could happen to essential or in-demand sections,
help focus on innovation and stop the spread of false information.
Creating a controlled managed internet where resources are allocated to some more a...