3. Net neutrality

Abstract

This chapter examines the nature of network neutrality or net neutrality. This is a highly prized design feature of the network that all data packets shall be treated equally. It was the nature of the early network that this design feature was protected and established by visionaries such as Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn. Tim Berners-Lee the creator of the World Wide Web has written at length as to how net neutrality allowed him to create the web without asking permission from anyone. However, modern network design challenges this ‘first amendment of the internet’ and recent developments, in particular in the United States, have led to debate on whether net neutrality should be legally enshrined.