Assignment 4: Thoughts on Network Neutrality

• There are multiple pros and cons of net neutrality. An evident pro of net neutrality is having no restrictions. We are able to make our own decisions and have access to just about anything we choose on the internet. This allows for greater competition amongst markets and eliminates the chance of a monopoly. The cons or net neutrality  are having to pay for internet service depending on the various speeds provided. If the user wants the fastest internet speed they are going to have to pay more money. It also limits markets when competing with one another forcing them to build a quality service if they want positive results from the consumers. Many people support net neutrality as it has a greater benefit due to the fact they have no restrictions. The only people I could see opposed to net neutrality would be companies trying to eliminate competition so they would be able to earn more money. 
• Net neutrality has been in the news due to the companies Comcast and Netflix. This past month Netflix made a deal with Comcast to give its subscribers a higher quality video experience for plenty of years to come. This has caused a controversy as it goes against net neutrality regulations and gives users with services other than Comcast a lower quality product although they are paying the same price.
• Net neutrality ties with freedom of speech because both have no restrictions. We are allowed to say what we feel, but the issue is if we were to remove network neutrality it would impact our freedom of speech. ISPs could decide what part of the internet we access and what parts are blocked. They could also eliminate all competitors websites to help improve their own company. It would take away having no restrictions which would also take away our freedom of speech. 
• As a person who uses the internet daily the recent news on net neutrality would have a huge affect on me. I don't want to, neither could I afford to pay more for services depending on usage. It sounds more like a cellphone data plan where after reaching your monthly two gigabytes of data you have to pay extra for each additional gigabyte. It would be very unreasonable, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happened in the next couple of years. 
• I completely support net neutrality as it levels the playing field for all companies and has the greatest benefit for the consumer. Although we pay for services today, without net neutrality we would find ourselves paying a lot more and being limited to what we are able to search on the internet. I'll stick with having no restrictions.

Netflix CEO Slams Web Companies Over Net Neutrality  
F.C.C. Seeks a New Path on ‘Net Neutrality’ Rules 
These two online sources are from the Huffington Post and the New York Times. Two very valid sources as they are some of the top reporting companies in the world today. 

Social Media and Privacy: When Rape Goes Viral

     It is amazing how quickly information can grow through social media. In only a matter of seconds a post can be viewed and shared by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. The only problem with social media is once information has been shared it is usually public forever. After reading When Rape Goes Viral, we see both the positive and negative impacts of social media. I understand by publicizing the event it made people more aware and allowed for them to easily discover the predator, but at the cost of another persons life. The victim didn’t have control of who saw the tragic event or how quickly it spread. This can cause drastic changes in someone’s life and even lead to suicide as we read in the article. Information spread through social media is not worth a person’s life. The victims should be able to decide what remains private or public because they are the lives that are being impacting the most.

Online Privacy: "I Have Nothing To Hide"

Privacy on the Internet is very important, but it’s not as easy to achieve as one may think. We often believe our information is safe because a website is said to be “secure” or we have selected the “private” option on our social media account. Although we may feel our information is safe many will say that if it is on the Internet, it isn’t private.

            Whether or not people think they have nothing to hide on the Internet, everyone has information that should be kept secret. Information such as our address, phone numbers and credit cards are not something the common person wants to release to the public. The scary part is if a person with the right amount of knowledge want to find out this secret information, it is very much possible. We constantly enter this information online anytime we make a purchase or fill out an application/form. Many people are capable of hacking into websites where they can access an entire database of information from phone numbers to emails. Each computer we use also has a different IP address. This unique set of numbers is left at every website we visit and can roughly track down a user to their exact location. Although many websites we use such as Amazon are safe, the information is only as private as the websites security. There is always a chance of a possible breach in the system as we saw with Target. Our information may seem private, but it’s not impossible for others to make it public.

Target Advertising: The Internet Knows More Than You Think

Advertisements are everywhere on the Internet. Showing up on millions of websites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter they are almost impossible to escape. When it comes to advertising the Internet knows more about an individual than one may think. The very second we visit a website every click that is made is gathered as information. The information is then used to target you, the individual, with the hopes of being drawn into purchasing a product relating to your previous searches. This is why we often see advertisements that we can relate with as they target our specific interests. Some may find this as an invasion of privacy while others may feel it benefits their internet experience as they discover products they were never looking for to begin with. As we move into the future advretisment technology will only advance as they analysis their audiences to discover what they are trying to reach.