Ares Vista Users Punished By Net Neutrality Idiocy

With the advent of an agreement between the US 9th Circuit Court and Comcast that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had no jurisdiction to make networks neutral, an important injunction was removed which will have potentially far reaching effects on internet usage and from there popular file-sharing networks like Ares Vista.

Net Neutrality

The principle behind so-called ‘net neutrality’ states that user access networks participating in the Internet should experience no restrictions on content, sites, or platforms, on the kinds of equipment that may be attached, and on the modes of communication allowed. They should also experience communication that is not unreasonably degraded by other traffic.

Unfortunately, this latest development will mean the exact opposite. Internet Service Providers like Comcast and Verizon will now be able to favor their own networks like VCast over competitors like iTunes. If, like many Americans, you use a file-sharing network like Ares Vista to download your music and video, your use and participation may be radically reduced. The effect of this stranglehold on the exchange of information will be the thwarting of completely legal data repositories exchanged over services like torrents.

Paying A Premium

Consumers can also expect to pay a premium for using file-sharing networks, as the carriers won’t be happy about the likes of Ares and iTunes riding ‘their’ wires for free. ISP’s will have the freedom to slow down popular file-sharing networks, yet still allow their own, or that of their partners, to operate freely. Where unrestricted services are offered, it is likely that they will be charged at a far higher rate. None of this is good for the consumer. After all, why should the public be penalized for accessing file-sharing networks like Ares Vista just so the ISP’s can rake in extra money on top of what they already charge?

File sharing networks, like Ares, provide access to a vast network of music, video, and picture files. Millions of satisfied users take advantage of the huge database of material available for sharing. For ISP’s to have the ability to restrict consumers’ access is a huge step backward in the arena of net neutrality. Freedom of choice to access file sharing networks should be the right of every consumer. But instead, the Comcast agreement has in effect narrowed the Internet from a six-lane highway, to a one-lane dirt track, complete with tollbooth at either end.

From Highway Back To Dirt Track

Once upon a time, the Internet was seen as a clear highway of information, freely accessible to everyone, with no restrictions. Now everyone is expected to pay a premium to use it and the freedom consumers once had to access vast networks of music, pictures, and video, has vanished into the ether. Utilities are no longer a public resource – they are now a valuable source of public revenue.

Who knows where all this will end but, ultimately, it is the consumer who will suffer and their pockets that will be hit. There is no way this can ever be seen as a positive development when Joe and Jane Public is unable to exercise his freedom of choice and use his favorite file-sharing networks without incurring a hefty financial penalty.

Ares Vista Users Punished By Net Neutrality Idiocy

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