Net neutrality is a principle which describes how the Internet should work. Net neutrality says that internet service providers (ISPs) should not discriminate with respect to the kinds of content they are transferring through their networks.

Proponents of net neutrality say that ISPs should only be allowed to move data from one place to another, not privilege certain kinds of data over others. They argue that the openness of the Internet has allowed for democratic participation and economic innovation online. Discriminatory practices like bandwidth throttling would, in their view, allow phone and cable companies to restrict what kinds of content, applications, and services users are able to choose from online. Proponents of net neutrality would like governments to ensure that the principle of net neutrality is protected.

Opponents of net neutrality believe that the Internet should not be regulated by the government. Traffic management practices, in their view, are necessary to prevent network congestion, as well as to block undesirable content like spam and viruses. They argue that ISPs should have the right to charge content providers for guaranteed delivery of their data. A competitive marketplace would prevent an ISP from restricting too much content, as consumers would be able to take their business to another ISP.

Bandwidth throttling (also known as traffic management) is the practice of restricting the amount of data that can be transferred through a network within a given period. An ISP can use bandwidth throttling to limit a user’s downloading and uploading speeds. Using Deep Packet Inspection (DPI), an ISP can also shape traffic based on the kind of data that is being transferred—allowing only certain kinds of data to be transferred, while delaying or preventing others. Bandwidth throttling is often used to restrict the use of P2P applications like BitTorrent and Limewire.

Any information (such as e-mails, websites, and YouTube videos) that is sent over the Internet is split up into data packets. Deep Packet Inspection is a form of surveillance which allows an ISP to look inside those packets to determine what kind of content is being carried in them. DPI technologies can be used by ISPs to engage in discriminatory traffic management—determining how fast certain data packets can move according to the type of data they are carrying—or filtering out certain types of data entirely.

Yes, most major Canadian ISPs, including Bell, Rogers, Cogeco, and Shaw, engage in traffic management, and some of them use DPI technologies (according to the January 13, 2009 filings to the CRTC, summarized here).

Additionally, in 2005, Telus blocked its subscribers from accessing a website called “Voices for Change,” which had been organized by members of the Telecommunications Workers Union, then on strike (BCCLA press release). Telus used its position as an ISP to effectively censor the union’s website.

The practice of Deep Packet Inspection poses a privacy concern because it gives ISPs access to a large amount of personal information about their users and what their users do online—information which could easily be abused. For example, ISPs could resell that data to third-party advertisers.

DPI could also be used as a form of digital rights management (DRM) on copyrighted works. For example, in order to ensure that copyrighted iTunes music files aren’t copied and redistributed, Apple could strike a deal with ISPs to ensure that any packets carrying copyright-infringing data without permission are prevented from reaching their destination.

In May 1999, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) decided that regulation of the Internet was not necessary to achieve the objectives of the Broadcasting Act (1991) and the Telecommunications Act (1993) (see CRTC FAQs and Broadcasting Public Notice 1999-84/Telecoms Public Notice 99-14). According to the current CRTC website, “The CRTC does not regulate rates, quality of service issues or business practices of Internet service providers as they relate to retail customers. This is because there is enough competition in the market that retail customers can shop around for service packages” (CRTC: Internet). Some more information about the CRTC’s regulation of the Internet can be found on the CRTC’S New Media policy research page.

Part of the CRTC’s New Media Project Initiative is to monitor the ongoing debate about net neutrality, and to ensure that the CRTC’s policy meets the objectives of the Broadcasting and Telecommunications acts.

On October 21, 2009, the CRTC released a new framework by which it would judge whether an ISP’s traffic management practices are acceptable (news release and Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2009-657). The CRTC says that traffic management should only be used by ISPs where economic approaches would not achieve the same effect. The new framework also sets guidelines for consumer notification of ISPs traffic management practices, as well as privacy protection for any user data collected using DPI technology. Additionally, the CRTC requires that an ISP would have to seek approval before influencing any content transferred over its network.

Here are some resources we used to make this site:

• SaveOurNet.ca
• Center for Digital Democracy: Net Neutrality Background
• Michael Geist: Net Neutrality
• MediaShift: Your Guide to Net Neutrality
• CBC FAQ: Net neutrality and traffic management
• Tim Wu: Net Neutrality FAQ

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