The Internet has been a breeding ground for controversy from the start. Part of this is a result of the fact that the Internet is the great neutralizer; it empowers everyone to have a voice
The Great Firewall of China
Censorship has always been a hot button issue in society. China is probably the most notorious country to practice strict online censorship garnering the moniker, “The Great Firewall of China'
Other sites have cropped up to try to get around the censorship and provide access to blocked sites. There are also sites that let you test whether your site is blocked.
Censored material includes sites that incite Chinese citizens to resist or break their constitution, criticism of laws or regulations of the Chinese government, sexually suggestive material, talk about gambling and violence, and more.
The censorship has come under fire from governments around the world. President Obama has openly criticized China’s censorship programs. The biggest event that brought the situation to light occurred during the recent Beijing Olympics, where foreign journalists’ ability to report freely was blighted.
More coverage of the controversy:
- The Great Firewall of China – BusinessWeek
- Opera Plugs Hole in Great Firewall of China – The Register
- Slipping Over the Great Firewall of China – The New York Times
Bandwidth throttling is a common practice among some ISPs to restrict excessive consumption of service resources, specifically when they’re using file-sharing services. ISPs proclaim that it helps ensure all their customers have reasonable bandwidth access, but critics assert that it’s unethical and unfair to consumers that have to pay the same price for less service.
More coverage of the controversy:
- Google Launches Tools to Test for Bandwidth Throttling – Sitepoint
- Comcast to Throttle Biggest Bandwidth Hogs – PCWorld
- 5 Questions About Comcast’s New Bandwidth Throttling Plan – GigaOm
In February 2009, Facebook altered their Terms of Service to allow them to use and retain any content posted to user accounts indefinitely and without limitation, claiming ownership of its user’s content once it’s uploaded to their site even after a user’s account is deleted.
Unsurprisingly, this caused quite a stir among users. Others formed groups on the site itself, calling for the ToS to be reverted back.
Facebook asserts that they never intended for the change to be that far-reaching, and that it was a misinterpretation of the new terms.
Users weren’t buying it, and in the end, Facebook changed the ToS back to the original version, and has seen sought user input before implementing changes.
More coverage of the controversy:
- Facebook Changes Terms of Service to Control More User Data – CNET
- Changes to Facebook Terms of Service Outrage Users – Mlive.com
- Facebook Yields to User Outrage, Reverts to Old Terms of Service – Macworld
Conclusion
It’s unlikely the Internet will ever be controversy-free. And would we really want it to be? Many Internet users enjoy (at least in part) the controversy that is so prevalent on the web. We all have a chance to be heard, whether it’s in matters of global importance or the latest celebrity gossip.
If we missed something, tell us in the comments and let’s have the last great Internet controversy of this decade.
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