Net Neutrality is a term usually used in relation to global
internet players, but the issue is being talked about in Indonesia now. The concept means
simply that no one should be able to demand, require or force payment for data
delivery in a particular way (subject to reasonable network
management systems operating).
Indonesia has a site blocking system operated by the government to
block access to sites it doesn't approve of.
However PT Telkom, the large public
telco which is one of the biggest communications companies in the country has now
blocked access to Netflix. Their justification is that some films available contain adult
content, which could be prohibited under the film laws. However the government is supposed to enforce
the site blocking laws and it specifically has not done so yet despite the issue of Netflix's suspect content being raised in the media.
ISPs can be liable for illegal acts on their servers, so Telkom might be
worrying about that risk. Or perhaps delivering Netflix's huge data load to customers is
simply too much for Telkom who like many ISPs object to sudden extra burden which requires them to invest in upgrading. There is a similar debate in India after Facebook began offering restricted data access plans. The localization of net neutrality arguments looks set to continue.
No comments:
Post a Comment