In a technologically advanced age, net neutrality and hacking have been very prominent in many computer cases in the United States. These cases have prompted theorists and professors to hypothesize on the biggest threats to affect the world wide web in the next 20 years. According to The Washington Post, 1400 researchers led by Pew’s Internet and American Life Project gave their hypotheses of what’s to expect in the next upcoming years. Check it out below!
[ Washington Post Excerpt via Hayley Tsukayama]
–“The majority pointed to government surveillance, restrictive regulation and corporate greed as the things most likely to kill the idea that the Web is a free-flowing network of information. Plenty expressed concern that the Internet will fracture due to government policies, such as those that limit access to the Web as some governments did during the Arab Spring, aggressive intellectual property laws or even well-meaning policies in Canada and Australia that aggressively filter all Internet traffic to combat child pornography. These efforts, experts said, cross the line — or at least flirt with it.
Paul Saffo, managing director at Discern Analytics, said: “The pressures to balkanize the global Internet will continue and create new uncertainties. Government will become more skilled at blocking access to unwelcome sites.”
Experts were also quick to point out that recent revelations in the wake of Edward Snowden’s leaks about the National Security Agency and disclosures about the data that companies are vacuuming up threatens to erode trust in the greater Web.
“Because of governance issues (and the international implications of the NSA reveals), data sharing will get geographically fragmented in challenging ways. The next few years are going to be about control,” said Danah Boyd, a research scientist for Microsoft.
Speaking of control, several experts also noted that more corporate control over the Internet could also choke off the free flow of information. Many expressed support for network neutrality — the idea that all content on the Web be treated the same — and raised alarms about where they see the issue going right now.
“It is very possible we will see the principle of net neutrality undermined,” said P.J. Rey, a PhD candidate in sociology at the University of Maryland. “In a political paradigm where money equals political speech so much hinges on how much ISPs and content providers are willing and able to spend on defending their competing interests. Unfortunately, the interests of everyday users count for very little.”–
Based on the excerpt do you agree with the 1400 theorist, or do you believe another entity will possibly have a greater affect on the internet. Let us know what you think!
Product Of Society 