Who Controls the Network? Not-so-Neutral Net.

This week’s question is the “Internet: Who controls the network?” My case study focused on the importance of Net Neutrality in terms of Internet control and how it regulates large Internet Service Providers, or ISPs, and prevents them from discriminating against any and all types of data that are currently open and free to any user with Internet access.

I explored the newest proposed reform that would dismiss Net Neutrality, transferring control over the Internet from the government to ISPs. This was done by comparing the current Net Neutrality reform to the proposed reform, “Restoring Internet Freedom,” and looking into three claims of FCC chairman Ajit Pai. I also gave an example of how ISPs currently violate Net Neutrality by looking into a recent incident involving Verizon’s data capping of Netflix and several other applications.

Taking a deeper look into this issue has made me aware of the importance of keeping the Internet a free and open space. I posed the question of “How will video streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu?” to my classmates in order understand others’ thoughts on Net Neutrality. I found that although most people advocate for Net Neutrality, some were willing to pay more than what they currently were for services they use often if it meant faster speeds. After looking into the new reform and several case studies of how ISPs have violated net neutrality, I do not want to take the chance of net neutrality going away!

Sources:

Brandom, R. (2017, July 21). Verizon admits to throttling video in apparent violation of net neutrality.

Kang, C. (2017, November 21). F.C.C. Announces Plan to Repeal Net Neutrality.

Video:

https://youtu.be/cvq0kwZaE1Q

Who Controls the Network? Privacy and the Internet.

This week’s discussion question asked who controls the network. In my presentation, I claimed that while a great many people control the network, users actually have a large part in controlling what kind of information is out there in cyberspace.

The latter half of my presentation focused more on the government side of the network, particularly the NSA and their interests in collecting information from both domestic and foreign sources. As a result of this data collection, citizens have begun to be more careful about their internet habits and information that they release. This, in a way, is how the NSA controls the network. This was made known to the world by a political whistleblower by the name of Edward Snowden, who exposed the looming powers of the NSA as well as openly declares doctrines like the Patriot Act to be harmful the American common good.

My final point of my presentation was that since we, as internet users, dictate what sort of information about ourselves is “out there” on the internet, we possess the capability to control the network as well as the information that agencies like the NSA have access to. So be careful what you put on the internet, because once it’s out there, it’s ALWAYS out there.

These are the sources I used in my presentation, and I would encourage everyone to check them out:

Silverman, J. (2017). Privacy under Surveillance Capitalism. Social Research, 84(1), 147.

Minkkinen, M., Auffermann, B., & Heinonen, S. (2017). Framing the future of privacy: citizens' metaphors for privacy in the coming digital society. European Journal Of Futures Research, 5(1), 1-13. doi:10.1007/s40309-017-0115-7

Nolan, C. (2017). The Edward Snowden Case and the Morality of Secrecy. Catholic Social Science Review, 22291-310.

Who Controls the Network? Google and the Issue of Privacy

Being one of the top three companies in the world according to Interbrand's Annual Report, Google is   one of the internet organizations who "controls" the network so to speak. Google has faced heavy scrutiny for not protecting user's privacy as they should. That being said, it is possible for users to take an active part in protecting their privacy by changing privacy settings on their accounts, especially if they feel that they do not want to share information with anyone besides themselves. The case study presented in class looked into a specific case known as "United States vs. Google", a case in which the FTC filed against Google for violating user privacy on Google's social network Buzz as well as on Apple's Safari. The FTC eventually won the case which is said to be the largest they've won in history. Google has also been under fire for suspected ties with the NSA and allegedly spying using student apps (Google Apps for Education), but so far no lawsuits have been brought up on either issue.
Google is a for-profit organization, and while it is important for them to ensure user privacy, taking extra steps where necessary, they are also a company who focuses on profits and a lot of those profits comes from advertisers with tailored ads directed towards specific subgroups that Google finds for them.
The important takeaway from this message is that there is a way to ensure your individual privacy by changing personal privacy settings available through Google, but also to enjoy the many quality services Google has worked hard to provide their users, keeping them in top-tier status and thus one of the many "controllers" of the network.