The end of net neutrality: A wake-up call for a decentralized internet

Opinion by: Stuart Gardner, CEO of Spacecoin

The cat-and-mouse game between net neutrality and the Federal Communications Commission, the US communications regulator, continues after a federal appeals court in the country once again struck down rules to protect consumers’ unrestricted access to the internet. 

This precarious position of net neutrality in one of the largest supposed free markets in the world highlights the vulnerabilities of centralized internet infrastructure, where corporate interests and regulatory scrutiny exercise outsized control on how a user accesses the internet. 

Tech and policy leaders must address these growing threats by pursuing decentralized, permissionless internet access as a sustainable solution to safeguard digital freedoms, prevent corporate gatekeeping and ensure accessibility for all users.

Why net neutrality matters

Net neutrality is the idea that all internet traffic should be treated equally. Whether it is a video on the streaming giant YouTube or a niche service like Mubi, internet service providers (ISPs) have to provide the same streaming speed and quality to users. It keeps the internet and the content and services based on it open and freely accessible to all.

Without net neutrality rules, an ISP could create “fast lanes” for specific content and services. For example, AT&T could provide its users with faster access to HBO and throttle the speed of its competitor, Netflix. AT&T previously owned HBO and now offers it to its customers under an agreement with its new owners, Warner Bros. Discovery. In the case of fast lanes, consumers would have to pay more to access HBO competitor Netflix at a higher speed and with better video quality.

While ISPs have traditionally denied that they would resort to such measures and would treat all traffic equally, history shows a different side. In 2012, AT&T restricted Apple’s FaceTime service to users on the provider’s shared data plans. Back in 2007, Comcast was found to be blocking peer-to-peer services such as BitTorrent on its network.

Recent: L1 blockchain releases major rebrand to expand its mission and scale for Web3 finance

The crucial policy has been a matter of great debate in the US since the 1990s. While the term “network neutrality” was coined in 2003 by Tim Wu, some US politicians expressed concerns over protecting the nascent internet in the early 1990s.

Critics of net neutrality say that the US court’s latest decision will bring “more investment, innovation, and competition.” ISPs, however, have consistently denied that net neutrality protections have any bearing on their investment decisions. A 2017 research report by the internet Association showed that ISPs continued “to invest and innovate at similar or greater levels” even when net neutrality regulations were in effect in the US.

The absence of net neutrality will reduce consumer’s power over internet access. First, as mentioned above, it will allow ISPs to block, slow down or restrict consumers from accessing services, applications or websites. Second, it will allow ISPs to charge content companies such as Netflix and Amazon to provide their services to users in a faster, high-quality manner. 

This pay-to-play strategy can discourage newer players in content- and internet-based services since they might not be able to compete with incumbents with deeper pockets. Even more troubling is the potential for ISPs to censor or limit access to politically sensitive content, posing a direct threat to democracy and free speech.

Why decentralization is the answer

We live in a time when the true ideals of a free and open internet are under attack. The most recent repeal of net neutrality regulations is taking us toward a more centralized, controlled version of the internet. In this scenario, a decentralized, permissionless internet offers a powerful alternative to today’s reality.

Decentralized systems can address the threat of censorship by distributing content across a network of nodes, ensuring that no single entity can block or suppress information. Decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) demonstrate how decentralized storage can keep data accessible even when network parts are disrupted or taken offline. This censorship resistance is crucial in regions where governments or corporations try to limit free expression online.

Decentralization can also cultivate economic democracy by eliminating intermediaries like ISPs and related fees. Blockchain-based platforms allow smaller, newer players to compete with incumbent services and content companies on a level playing field. The Helium network, for example, uses a decentralized model to challenge traditional telecom monopolies with community-driven wireless infrastructure.

In a decentralized system, developers don’t need approval from ISPs to launch new services. That dramatically lowers barriers to entry and encourages permissionless innovation. Entrepreneurs and creators can freely experiment with new ideas without fear of being blocked or throttled by gatekeepers.

Decentralized systems distribute data and governance across a network of nodes, ensuring no single entity can exert undue control. This distribution of control can help build an internet that’s resistant to censorship, manipulation and corporate control.

Decentralization success stories

Decentralizing communication networks such as the internet is not a theoretical concept — its usability has already been proven.

When Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico’s infrastructure in 2017, community mesh networks provided critical communication capabilities while traditional networks remained offline. These decentralized networks, built on principles of distributed infrastructure, demonstrated remarkable resilience in crisis conditions. Similarly, decentralized internet projects are well-equipped to handle communications during disasters, as they do not rely on vulnerable ground-based infrastructure.

Blockchain ecosystems like Ethereum and Polkadot are prime examples of how decentralized technologies can enable a wide range of real-world use cases, from financial transactions to community-driven projects. This same principle can be applied to internet infrastructure, creating networks immune to corporate gatekeeping and censorship.

Decentralized storage solutions already provide alternatives to centralized cloud services, ensuring data sovereignty. Users can access their data without fear of censorship or loss, as the information is distributed across a decentralized network.

Building the future

The road to a fully decentralized internet is not without its challenges.

Investing in solving scalability challenges and improving user interfaces for decentralized services is a must. The technology should be as easy to use as internet services while providing superior privacy and control.

There is also a need to educate the masses on what’s at stake. The end of net neutrality isn’t just a policy change — it’s a fundamental threat to digital freedom that demands a technological response.

The recent rollback of net neutrality in the US is a stark warning for the future. It highlights the fragility of any centralized system where the game’s rules can change anytime, leaving the users at a disadvantage. In decentralized systems, the users are always a part of the process that creates the rules.

Decentralized internet service is not merely a technological innovation but the only viable solution that protects the principles of freedom, equality and innovation that underpin the digital age.

Opinion by: Stuart Gardner, CEO of Spacecoin.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Opinion by: Stuart Gardner, CEO of Spacecoin

The cat-and-mouse game between net neutrality and the Federal Communications Commission, the US communications regulator, continues after a federal appeals court in the country once again struck down rules to protect consumers’ unrestricted access to the internet. 

This precarious position of net neutrality in one of the largest supposed free markets in the world highlights the vulnerabilities of centralized internet infrastructure, where corporate interests and regulatory scrutiny exercise outsized control on how a user accesses the internet. 

Tech and policy leaders must address these growing threats by pursuing decentralized, permissionless internet access as a sustainable solution to safeguard digital freedoms, prevent corporate gatekeeping and ensure accessibility for all users.

Why net neutrality matters

Net neutrality is the idea that all internet traffic should be treated equally. Whether it is a video on the streaming giant YouTube or a niche service like Mubi, internet service providers (ISPs) have to provide the same streaming speed and quality to users. It keeps the internet and the content and services based on it open and freely accessible to all.

Without net neutrality rules, an ISP could create “fast lanes” for specific content and services. For example, AT&T could provide its users with faster access to HBO and throttle the speed of its competitor, Netflix. AT&T previously owned HBO and now offers it to its customers under an agreement with its new owners, Warner Bros. Discovery. In the case of fast lanes, consumers would have to pay more to access HBO competitor Netflix at a higher speed and with better video quality.

While ISPs have traditionally denied that they would resort to such measures and would treat all traffic equally, history shows a different side. In 2012, AT&T restricted Apple’s FaceTime service to users on the provider’s shared data plans. Back in 2007, Comcast was found to be blocking peer-to-peer services such as BitTorrent on its network.

Recent: L1 blockchain releases major rebrand to expand its mission and scale for Web3 finance

The crucial policy has been a matter of great debate in the US since the 1990s. While the term “network neutrality” was coined in 2003 by Tim Wu, some US politicians expressed concerns over protecting the nascent internet in the early 1990s.

Critics of net neutrality say that the US court’s latest decision will bring “more investment, innovation, and competition.” ISPs, however, have consistently denied that net neutrality protections have any bearing on their investment decisions. A 2017 research report by the internet Association showed that ISPs continued “to invest and innovate at similar or greater levels” even when net neutrality regulations were in effect in the US.

The absence of net neutrality will reduce consumer’s power over internet access. First, as mentioned above, it will allow ISPs to block, slow down or restrict consumers from accessing services, applications or websites. Second, it will allow ISPs to charge content companies such as Netflix and Amazon to provide their services to users in a faster, high-quality manner. 

This pay-to-play strategy can discourage newer players in content- and internet-based services since they might not be able to compete with incumbents with deeper pockets. Even more troubling is the potential for ISPs to censor or limit access to politically sensitive content, posing a direct threat to democracy and free speech.

Why decentralization is the answer

We live in a time when the true ideals of a free and open internet are under attack. The most recent repeal of net neutrality regulations is taking us toward a more centralized, controlled version of the internet. In this scenario, a decentralized, permissionless internet offers a powerful alternative to today’s reality.

Decentralized systems can address the threat of censorship by distributing content across a network of nodes, ensuring that no single entity can block or suppress information. Decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) demonstrate how decentralized storage can keep data accessible even when network parts are disrupted or taken offline. This censorship resistance is crucial in regions where governments or corporations try to limit free expression online.

Decentralization can also cultivate economic democracy by eliminating intermediaries like ISPs and related fees. Blockchain-based platforms allow smaller, newer players to compete with incumbent services and content companies on a level playing field. The Helium network, for example, uses a decentralized model to challenge traditional telecom monopolies with community-driven wireless infrastructure.

In a decentralized system, developers don’t need approval from ISPs to launch new services. That dramatically lowers barriers to entry and encourages permissionless innovation. Entrepreneurs and creators can freely experiment with new ideas without fear of being blocked or throttled by gatekeepers.

Decentralized systems distribute data and governance across a network of nodes, ensuring no single entity can exert undue control. This distribution of control can help build an internet that’s resistant to censorship, manipulation and corporate control.

Decentralization success stories

Decentralizing communication networks such as the internet is not a theoretical concept — its usability has already been proven.

When Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico’s infrastructure in 2017, community mesh networks provided critical communication capabilities while traditional networks remained offline. These decentralized networks, built on principles of distributed infrastructure, demonstrated remarkable resilience in crisis conditions. Similarly, decentralized internet projects are well-equipped to handle communications during disasters, as they do not rely on vulnerable ground-based infrastructure.

Blockchain ecosystems like Ethereum and Polkadot are prime examples of how decentralized technologies can enable a wide range of real-world use cases, from financial transactions to community-driven projects. This same principle can be applied to internet infrastructure, creating networks immune to corporate gatekeeping and censorship.

Decentralized storage solutions already provide alternatives to centralized cloud services, ensuring data sovereignty. Users can access their data without fear of censorship or loss, as the information is distributed across a decentralized network.

Building the future

The road to a fully decentralized internet is not without its challenges.

Investing in solving scalability challenges and improving user interfaces for decentralized services is a must. The technology should be as easy to use as internet services while providing superior privacy and control.

There is also a need to educate the masses on what’s at stake. The end of net neutrality isn’t just a policy change — it’s a fundamental threat to digital freedom that demands a technological response.

The recent rollback of net neutrality in the US is a stark warning for the future. It highlights the fragility of any centralized system where the game’s rules can change anytime, leaving the users at a disadvantage. In decentralized systems, the users are always a part of the process that creates the rules.

Decentralized internet service is not merely a technological innovation but the only viable solution that protects the principles of freedom, equality and innovation that underpin the digital age.

Opinion by: Stuart Gardner, CEO of Spacecoin.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.