Introduction
Created solely for governmental purposes in the 60s (Nagesh, 2012), the Internet seems to have become an integral part of people’s lives in the 21st century. The realm of the virtual reality, despite being in existence for a while, still remains rather mysterious when it comes to viewing it through legal lens; because of the specifics of cyberspace, a range of laws are hardly applicable to it. As a result, a range of problems ensue; as a rule, most of these problems can be related to the Net Neutrality concept. Consequently, not only have little to no boundaries been set in the realm of virtual reality, but also a comparatively loose control has been established over the actions of the Internet users. Despite the fact that the principles of net neutrality are quite reasonable and adequate, they are hardly applicable to the Internet and its users, since these regulations have been designed with the concept of real-life communication process in mind, whereas the internet domains are self-controlled and self-regulated; moreover, government intrusion into the Internet leads to major economic issues, and it may infringe the users’ right to security and anonymity hence, the intrusion of government into the realm of the Internet will disrupt the work of the later instead of providing additional security.
When Regulation Is Needed
At the first glance, the reasons for regulating the Internet environment in accordance with the Net Neutrality principle are rather obvious. According to the existing evidence, the principle of network neutralities essential to the present-day virtual environment, since it creates the premises for handling the problem of law breach in the IT field.
Reinforcement of the Basic Human Rights
Apart from the concerns about the Internet users’ privacy and security breach as the possible outcome of the adoption of the net regulation principles, the issue regarding the state economy must be brought up. There is no secret that, by opening broadband for users to share data with each other, one promotes the evolution of economy and, therefore, reduces the possibility for the state to regress into the economic recession stage. Consequently, the integration of the state government power to control the realm of the virtual environment may trigger a rapid demise of the state economic and financial position (Zittrain, 2008).
The solution designed by FCC obviously hinders the autonomy of online users by cutting down the connection speed (Nagesh, 2014). In fact, the FCC has already admitted that the idea of restricting the amount of traffic consumed by users can hardly be seen as constitutional and needs to be addressed: “In April 2014, the FCC indicated that it would allow companies such as Netflix to pay Internet service providers (ISPs) to provide faster “lanes” that would speed traffic” (Wihbey, 2014, p. 1).
Recent Suggestions
With the adoption of new expansion policies by such companies as Microsoft and Netscape, the Internet has become a venue for not only interpersonal communication, but also business negotiations, as well as business operations, including marketing, financial transactions, etc. Therefore, it would be wrong to claim that the Internet should be regulated without any regard for the interests of both individual users and major companies. Hence, such a strategy as informational sustainability may possibly be adopted as the means for the state authorities, entrepreneurs and individual users to come to terms regarding the flexibility of the Internet usage policies.
It should be noted that the copyright issue, as one of the key concerns of the modern communication process, as also been addressed in a variety of ways, yet with very few results so far. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), as well as the Protect IP Act (PIPA), has been designed in order to stop computer piracy; nevertheless, online piracy still remains a part and parcel of the everyday online communication, with a range of programs that allow for free and fast download of copyrighted material, Torrent being the key one. As recent statistics shows, the rates of Internet piracy have only gone up since the implementation of the aforementioned acts, which means that their efficacy is close to nil. As far as the broadband issue is concerned, such an approach as the use of fiber optic cable deserves being mentioned as the major tool in addressing the problem. However, despite the seeming efficacy, the specified approach is inapplicable in rural areas, which makes it rather flawed (Jesdanun, 2009).
Further ideas
A closer look at the issue, however, will reveal that the problem is far more complex than it might seem; instead of considering it as a technology related concern, one should view it through the social and cultural lens. Anonymity is one of the unique and the most significant features of the Internet; it affects its users, shaping their behavioral and communication patterns to the point where the users stop differentiating between the ethical and the unethical (O’Reilly, 2005, p. 3). As a result, the need for taking the step that is traditionally considered wrong, e.g., downloading licensed or copyrighted content for free, emerges. Hence, it will be a better idea to introduce online users to the concept of responsibility and ethics in communication. Indeed, the idea of changing the users’ perception of the issue seems to be rather unpopular with the owners of copyrighted content; however, with due care and sufficient effort, the given alteration of people’s perception of cyberspace can be carried out.
Conclusion
With all due credit to the efforts of the government, which has put together a complex system of rules and principles, which are supposed to regulate the broadband, the specified innovations can hardly be seen as sensible, since the Internet is a self-regulated phenomenon. True, online communities, as well as the entire concept of transferring data electronically, is far from being flawless; in fact, the Internet as a tool for communication and data transfer poses a range of threats to its users, the security concerns being the key ones. Nevertheless, introducing a rather rigid set of principles for controlling something as elusive as virtual communication hardly seems adequate. Hence, it can be assumed that the idea of intrusion governmental into the Internet sphere, particularly, the cessation of the broadband connection under the premises of the Title II regulations, will trigger an immediate backlash among Internet users, as well as drastic consequences for the global economy. True, providing Internet users with complete independency may cause major problems, including illegal transfer of data that is under the copyright law (e. g, via torrents, with the help of file hosting services, etc.).
Internet security in general and the facilitation of security in the course of online communication in particular is not an easy task. Because of the recent attempts of the government to control the cyberspace by identifying the basic rules for the Internet users to comply with, arrange of economic and financial concerns may emerge; more to the point, the issue of users’ privacy and security will be inevitably raised. Hence, it can be suggested that moderate laws should be suggested for the realm of virtual reality and cyber communication.
Reference List
Jesdanun, A. (2009). As Internet turns 40, barriers threaten its growth. Huffington Post. Web.
O’Reilly, T. (2005). What is Web 2.0? Design patterns and business models for the next generation of software. Web.
Nagesh, G. (2014). 5 main themes emerge in net neutrality debate. Wall Street Journal. Web.
Wihbey, J. (2014). The net neutrality debate and underlying dynamics: Research perspectives. Journalist’s Resource. Web.
Zittrain, J. (2008). Future of the Internet. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.