Bluepost Digital

In recent months I’ve seen an increase in debate surrounding who has control of the internet. Many people feel that the internet should be an open space and all websites and traffic should be on equal footing.  With US Government regulators backing these principles at the end of last year and the EU openly supporting the idea, it would seem that ISPs will have to continue to adhere to net neutrality. This is all good news for internet users and small online companies, but the UK government has other ideas which I think will have a significant impact on social media.

What is net neutrality?

Net neutrality has been a part of internet ethics since the off. At a basic level it prevents Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from giving preferential treatment to the content they deliver through their services. Where the US and EU have openly favoured net neutrality, the UK government has reportedly said that in order to help expand the internet infrastructure, ISPs such as BT had the freedom to experiment with new fees and a two-tiered system.

So what does this mean for social media?

This means in the UK, ISPs could give preferential services to those who can afford to pay more for the privilege. So, YouTube, with its increasingly deep pockets can pay the ISPs to give priority to the videos streamed on its website, whilst the smaller players are left with slower streaming speeds. I’m certain the majority of users would opt to use the speedier service, leaving the small players fighting an uphill battle to gain visibility. This is great news for the established social media platforms but it could limit the innovation and invention of new and exciting platforms because they simply can’t afford to compete with the big boys. It’s not just social media platforms which could suffer, BBC director general Mark Thompson has yesterday stepped into the debate saying the iPlayer and other online TV channels will be undermined by a two tiered internet whilst speaking at the Oxford Media Convention. He said, “We know ISPs routinely dampen speeds well below published headline rates. They also have the capability, which they have used in the past – though no ISP is currently – to convey some content from some providers at slower speeds than others.”

It’s a worrying outlook not just for the social space but the whole World Wide Web, but if the BBC and other channels who rely on providing free content to large audiences continue to join the debate we may see the UK government making a U-turn. I’ve got my fingers firmly crossed…

Image courtesy of Dan at freedigitalphotos.com