Net Neutrality – what it means for PR?

Recently there’s been a wave of stories around the issue of net neutrality and its wider implications. Such as the release of a “joint policy proposal” by Google and Verizon concerning hardline and wireless net neutrality.

This is a concern for many – and especially communications professionals.
Net neutrality keeps the internet fair. It provides a medium through which any of our clients can, with a relatively small amount of capital and the right skills, make their voice heard.

This value is being challenged with some network operators rumoured to be advocating (again) the prioritising of certain types of traffic for a charge. If this happened, a domino effect could ensue with charging creeping into business models across the net. So pay walls could pop up everywhere as big content carriers or blogging platforms seek to claw back network charges. The impact on online media and bloggers could be immense and strike at the heart of why the Internet has flourished as a source of information for all, rather than the few.

Resistance to ending net neutrality is huge. So any shake-ups of this magnitude are going to be difficult to progress. But the issue does keep on returning to the agendas of both network operators and content players. As communication professionals we have interest here too and we need to be vigilant about where this debate is going.