Equal Access & Net Neutrality Summary

Equal Access

  • Digital Divide: Unequal access to technology affects poorer individuals and countries.
  • Accessibility: Ensures individuals with disabilities have technology access.
  • Benefits: Ensures societal improvements across education and employment.

Benefits of Equal Access

  • Individuals: Full access to internet services promotes merit-based evaluation in education and job searching.
  • Organisations: Fair competition leads to better employee quality and business success.
  • Society: Enhances overall education, reduces discrimination, poverty, and unemployment.

Legal Requirements & Guidelines

  • Equality Act: Prohibits discrimination on protected characteristics; mandates reasonable adjustments for accessibility.
  • ISO-9241-171: Guidelines for software accessibility.
  • WCAG 2.1: Standards for website and web app accessibility.

Professional Guidelines - Principles

  1. Perceivable: Information must be presented in perceivable ways (e.g., text alternatives).
  2. Operable: User interface should be keyboard operable.
  3. Understandable: Content and user interfaces should be readable and comprehensible.
  4. Robust: Compatibility with assistive technologies via valid HTML.

Net Neutrality

  • Definition: All internet data treated equally, preventing blocking or throttling.
  • Restrictions on ISPs: Cannot block content, throttle speeds, or impose extra charges for faster access.

Impact of Net Neutrality

  • Potential Issues: Loss of net neutrality could lead to tiered access, disadvantaging smaller businesses.
  • Infrastructure Investment: Some argue that ending net neutrality might lead to improved internet infrastructure.

Examples of Impact

  • Examples of Throttling: ISP AT&T throttled Netflix traffic 70% and YouTube 74% of the time, resulting in poor video quality.
  • Possible Future: Customers might need to pay ISPs for access to specific sites, similar to cable channel packages.