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  • Essay / The Singapore government's ideologically conservative view on the Internet

    Since its invention, it has become one of the most important tools that we use in our daily lives. Currently, more than 47% of the world's population, or 3.2 billion people, now use the Internet (money). The purpose of net neutrality laws is to ensure that no Internet Service Provider (ISP) has the ability to tamper with a person's connection to a website in any way (Business Insider) . This phenomenon has recently started to resurface on social media and has once again become a widely debated topic. Net neutrality laws were first addressed during the Obama presidency in 2015, when stricter laws were put in place to regulate ISPs (The Guardian). On December 14, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) successfully repealed these laws. In this essay, I will discuss the views of three different stakeholders, Ajit Pai, Mignon Clyburn and the Singapore government. I will focus more on the ethical and ideological perspective of these stakeholders. One of the most prominent players on this issue is Ajit Pai, the current chairman of the FCC, who takes an ideologically conservative stance in supporting the repeal of Title II net neutrality laws. Ajit Pai was first appointed to the FCC in 2012 under President Obama from the Republican Party, but was recently elected Chairman of the FCC after Trump's election (Wikipedia).Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay A conservative ideology is one that wants less government involvement in daily life and business, while favoring more traditional views. includes private companies. ISPs are actually also private companies because they are not controlled by the government. By repealing the strict Title II net neutrality laws, they would give more power back to ISPs and loosen government control, further supporting conservative ideology. But this is not the only perspective through which we can analyze Ajit Pai. He advocates the repeal of net neutrality, which also demonstrates a utilitarian ethic. The main reason he repeals net neutrality is because he believes in the common good of the people and that it would benefit more people. In an interview, he said current net neutrality laws could "disincentivize companies from wanting to expand Internet access in many parts of the country, in low-income urban and rural areas, for example." (PBS). Utilitarian ethics is the belief that every person is equally valuable and that every action is aimed at achieving maximum overall happiness. Ajit Pai believes that by doing this he can achieve a more free and open Internet (PBS), ultimately benefiting the entire country and demonstrating this utilitarian ethos. If Ajit succeeds in repealing net neutrality, it would revert Title II net neutrality laws to Title I laws. This does not prevent ISPs from tampering with Internet connections and data, wherever possible. For example, an ISP might intentionally slow down your Internet connection to offer you a deal that lets you pay more for a faster Internet connection. This act of repealing net neutrality has also led the general public to have extremely negative opinions on this issue and oppose the repeal. The second stakeholder I will analyze is FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, a Democrat who has a vision.