This issue is certainly of grave importance; we must be wary of any legislation that threatens to regulate the internet….. kudos for the NDP for attempting to introduce legislation that would keep the internet more ‘free’. Interesting how this story doesn’t generate much discussion on mainstream media…
From CBC.CA May 28
The NDP has followed through with its promise to introduce legislation to the House of Commons that seeks to keep the internet open and free from control by service providers.
“This bill is about fairness to consumers,” said Charlie Angus, the NDP’s digital spokesman, in the House of Commons on Wednesday. “The internet is a critical piece of infrastructure not just for Canada but for the world … this bill protects the innovation agenda of Canada.”
The private member’s bill, C-552, is in reaction to moves by some of Canada’s largest internet service providers (ISPs), including Bell Canada Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc., to limit their customers’ uses of the internet. Bell, Rogers and a few others say a small percentage of customers have been congesting their networks by using peer-to-peer applications such as BitTorrent, so they have slowed the internet down at peak times of the day.
The ISPs’ actions have provoked outrage from internet users, with about 300 protesters taking to the steps of Parliament Hill on Tuesday. Critics have said the targeting of peer-to-peer applications is just the tip of the iceberg. If ISPs are allowed to decide which internet applications can and can’t be used, innovative new companies that were born from experimentation — such as Google, Amazon and eBay — may not happen in the future. Read the rest of this entry »