The net neutrality debate in peripheral contexts: ideological discourses, economic struggles and policy analysis

MARIANO ZUKERFELD; BERNADETTE CALIFANO

Zagreb

Congreso; Communication, Capitalism and Social Change: Policy, Practice, Praxis; 2018

European Sociological Association (ESA), Croatian Sociological Association (HSD), Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO), Department of Sociology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FFZG), University of Zagreb.

The aim of this paper is to show that strict Net Neutrality, as promoted and regulated, rarely exists in practice. The very functioning of the internet implies the prioritization of certain data packages over others. Traffic management measures carried out by ISPs, aided by technologies such as deep packet inspection (DPI), are common practice and in many countries not regulated. In addition, there are content or service providers with different economic power, which use content distribution networks (CDNs) or subscribe peering agreements to improve the transit of their contents. Besides, there are substantial differences in terms of the speed of connection between countries, which contradicts equality and non-discrimination principles.