What’s the fallout for Switzerland and Europe from the US decision to overturn net neutrality regulations? It could stifle online innovation, says an American researcher working in Zurich on internet access issues. But paradoxically, many laws aimed at mandating a neutral internet may have the same effect. The decision “creates a world in which ‘you must be at least this tall to play’,” says Brian Trammell of the United States Federal Communications Commission’s vote last week to overturn regulations that kept internet service providers from charging content providers money for better access to their networks. Net neutrality: the principle that Internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favouring or blocking particular products or websites. Since the US internet is no longer required to be “neutral” – or a level playing field for all seeking to use and access it – Trammell foresees that large ...
