The article suggests that further public education about net neutrality would be beneficial. The first portion of this paper provides a survey of the existing study surrounding net neutrality, highlighting the contentious debate between market-based and public interest perspectives. To examine the debate, an overview of public utility philosophy is provided, shedding light on how the Internet can be conceptualized as a public good. Following this discussion, an analysis of mainstream media is presented, evaluating how the media represents the issue of net neutrality as well as whether the Internet is discussed through the lens of public utility. To further examine how the net neutrality debate is being addressed, and to see the potential impacts of media discourses on the public, the results of a focus group are reported and analyzed. Finally, a discussion considering the implications of the net neutrality debate was presented through media discourses, highlighting the future of net neutrality as an important policy
The article suggests that further public education about net neutrality would be beneficial. The first portion of this paper provides a survey of the existing study surrounding net neutrality, highlighting the contentious debate between market-based and public interest perspectives. To examine the debate, an overview of public utility philosophy is provided, shedding light on how the Internet can be conceptualized as a public good. Following this discussion, an analysis of mainstream media is presented, evaluating how the media represents the issue of net neutrality as well as whether the Internet is discussed through the lens of public utility. To further examine how the net neutrality debate is being addressed, and to see the potential impacts of media discourses on the public, the results of a focus group are reported and analyzed. Finally, a discussion considering the implications of the net neutrality debate was presented through media discourses, highlighting the future of net neutrality as an important policy