Odisha CM Navin Patnaik bats for net neutrality - Times of India

NEW DELHI: Odisha CM Navin Patnaik is the latest to join the chorus supporting net neutrality. Patnaik has written to Trai chairman Rahul Khullar opposing the implications suggested in the regulatory authority's consultation paper.

Patnaik has argued that any move to dilute internet freedom would not only lead to economic loss to the booming IT industry but also affect the poor as several services to them are delivered through the internet.

The battle for neutral internet: Join Times Campaign

"It must be noted that this is not an issue of just elite as it is being made out to be. It will affect even the poor because so many services are delivered over the internet today. The government is trying to extend its services to the people through this medium because it will be effective and inexpensive. Present usage of the net seems to encompass everyone, rich or poor, particularly the younger people," Patnaik said in the letter.

Notably, it was a BJD MP, Tathagat Satpathy, who first raised a political voice against dilution of net neutrality. Already, lakhs of letters have been mailed to Trai opposing any such move.

Watch: AIB campaign for net neutrality

Patnaik said he did not see any justification in limiting the ability of new start-up companies to reach the internet user. "Let us remember that the internet is not the market place but the market is made inside the internet," Patnaik argued.

Talking about the poor, Patnaik said, "While the underprivileged deserve much more than what is available, nobody should decide what exactly are their requirements. You cannot force a person to use a certain mobile application because the telecom company believes that it should be doing so," he said.

The CM added, "We, therefore, would be wary of any future where equal and non-discriminatory access to growth engine of the internet would be altered, and which is why I strongly believe in the principle of net neutrality."

Patnaik also asked Trai to ensure that it did not "favour regressive measures such as licensing online services".

The letter comes in the backdrop of a raging debate, across various media platforms, over the alleged attempts of telecom companies to introduce differential pricing plans for services like WhatsApp, Skype and Viber. Campaigners for a free internet have argued that these companies are trying to clamp down on the internet's transparency and freedom. While India does not have a legislation for net neutrality, Trai has come up with a consultation paper that seeks views of the public on the matter.

http://ift.tt/1nnosTQ neutrality,Navin Patnaik

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.



IFTTT

Put the internet to work for you.

Delete or edit this Recipe

Labels:

Post a Comment

.