My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) looks at how the business community has begun to take sides in the net neutrality debate. Google led the charge with a submission to the CRTC in which it left little doubt about how it views the net neutrality issue. The Internet search giant argued that "providers of broadband internet access services, including Bell, should be prohibited from throttling lawful applications. The Internet is simply too important to allow them to act as such a gatekeeper; the Internet's myriad benefits can only be fully realized when Canadian carriers allow end users to choose the applications and content they prefer."
While Google's entry into the debate captured headlines, they were by no means alone. The Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance, Canada's largest high-tech association, warned that "the measures that Bell Canada is applying to manage the traffic of its Sympatico customers as well as its wholesale ISP customers is interfering with the ability of end-users to telecommute and/or work from their home offices and hindering our members from running their business and providing quick customer services." Bell's actions also attracted the attention of Skype, the popular Internet telephony service. It cautioned that "for the Internet to remain innovative, and continue to deliver productivity gains for consumers and businesses, the CRTC must act – in this proceeding – to protect the interests of consumers."
