Online Resource - YouTube

Saturday, October 8, 2011

The internet is, by its very interconnected nature, difficult to regulate (Dezuani, 2010). In this YouTube video, “Saving Canada’s Internet”, another threat to internet freedom is discussed – the threat to net neutrality. Net neutrality is a description of the current situation in many Western countries whereby no-one is allowed to discriminate on traffic – where it’s from or the nature of the data. The makers of this video, SaveOurNet.ca (2010), discuss a threat from large corporations who want a tiered structure which will give them a guaranteed percentage of the faster bandwidths (which they can buy), and leave a small percentage and slower bandwidth to smaller producers. The smaller producers will only be able to access faster internet by paying higher prices. The effect of this, they say, could be the small players who cannot afford to pay being squeezed out – effectively giving most control to larger corporations and thereby stifling innovation. They want the Canadian government to regulate to protect net neutrality, and compare the stance of the US government which has pledged to retain net neutrality.

This YouTube video is a good example of a high quality audio visual presentation freely available to internet users – using images of people talking, cartoons, diagrams and music. It shows sources of much of the footage – e.g., the Canadian Minister speaking in parliament, giving it credibility. It also shows clips of un-named people speaking – appealing to the ordinary person, who they appear to be. It makes sound arguments and explains the issues well. Altogether it is interesting to watch because of its high quality, and is thought provoking because of well put together content. It raises another issue concerning internet regulation that could become important for Australia too.

References

Dezuani, M. (2010). CLN647 The ‘Circuit of Culture’ in New Media Contexts: Lecture 7 [Lecture Notes]. Retrieved from http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_75617_1%26url%3D

SaveOurNet.ca. (2010, October 10). Saving Canada’s Internet [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hKbPpizEDBM#!

Wesch, M. (2008). An anthropological introduction to YouTube [Video file] Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPAO-lZ4_hU&feature=player_embedded#!

Posted by Paula

Labels: Regulation - Paula