The issue of net neutrality is emerging as a prominent focus of debate in the ongoing evolution of Canadian broadcast and telecommunications regulatory policy. Specifically, there has been increasing concern on the part of some observers that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are impeding access to specific web sites or curtailing specific types of usage. Many believe strongly that the Internet should be universally available for all possible uses and that access to content and applications should not be interfered with, particularly by service providers. Related to this belief is a view that censoring or controlling the flow of information carried on the Internet will discourage innovation and productivity growth in the economy and, perhaps of greater importance to some, threaten freedom of speech and expression, thereby undermining the competitive process.
