Net Neutrality comes to Canada...

Yesterday, CP wrote a couple of articles on the beginning of the struggle for net neutrality in Canada. I immediately thought that I would blog it. Due to work and life in general that didn't happen - although I must admit I thought it would be interesting to see if the media would pick it up in today's papers.

After a search in one of Canada's best media databases, it looks like there definitely was some pick-up, although I would have been happier with more. The story ran in 11 newspapers - but that is across all of Canada. Really, I would have hoped that it would get more play than that! This is an issue that threatens to stifle the democracy of the internet - allowing everyone equal access to all resources.

To me, this issue is akin to have sponsors for a library. Only the resources that are written or published by those sponsors are part of the library catalogue and have signage - everything else isn't. Users can easily access that which is sponsored, all other materials are still available - but good luck in ever finding them as there would be no information on where to find them! What do you think the likelihood is of users struggling through library stacks with no information on how to find the books they want? This is what TELUS and Bell want to do - be able to allow easy access to the websites that they have agreements with, and to hell with the rest of the web!

I think I am going to contact Pippa Lawson of Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Law Clinic to see if there is any way I can help get the word out. If any of you feel the way I do (and if you don't, email me - I'd be happy to discuss this with you until I change your mind), please get the word out!!!

Access to information is SO integral to a free and intelligent society!

Reading material:
http://news.google.ca/news?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-38,GGLG:en&q=net+neutrality&scoring=d