Net Neutrality: Defending the Stupid Network

For much of the 1990s and 2000s I argued against the US and Canadian federal governments taking the opportunity to exert influence in the development of the web, internet, and realtime technologies.  Recently I was invited to speak @ UBC on the topic in a debate of sorts with Thomas Struble of Washington DC think tank RStreet.

I’ve actually reversed my earlier position — I think that now is the time for regulators to step in and enshrine the tenets of Net Neutrality that have helped the internet to flourish as the fastest growing communications technology in human history.

Here’s the PPT Slide Deck (better in its original Keynote form below):

… and better yet, here’s video of the event:

… as always, a huge influence on my approach to the internet, and communications technology in general, is David Isenberg… in particular his paper “Rise of the Stupid Network“.

I also gave an interview to the Vancouver Sun in 2017 underpinning the same argument: that is, that if carriers are permitted to prioritize traffic commercially, the result would be immediately chilling for early-stage ventures who can’t afford to pay the vig.