The Neutrality Pyramid: A Policy Framework to Distribute Power Over the Net

Abstract

Structured as a document for action in four steps, this report seeks to provide a rough compass for those thinking about the regulation of information and communication technologies.

I argue that paying attention to who shapes traffic (and how) is crucial. It will allow us to understand the connection between issues often considered unrelated (such as net neutrality and misinformation), as well as to anticipate challenges that are yet to emerge.

The report is structured in terms of four consecutive steps:

STEP 1: Understanding the context: How the internet came to be seated on the defendant’s bench.


STEP 2: Understanding the present and future risks triggered by a centralized information system.


STEP 3: Deploying the Neutrality Pyramid framework in order to redistribute power.
a) Net Neutrality, b) Device Neutrality; c) Platform Neutrality; d) Personal Control over Personal Data


STEP 4: Enabling robust public deliberation towards the construction of a positive agenda.


In the Conclusion, I outline the backdrop of weakened governments and global institutions of governance in which the upcoming debates regarding digital policy will take place, and the challenges the cold war discourse, with its militaristic undertones, poses in this context.

Keywords: web, internet, centralization, competition, net neutrality, device neutrality, neutrality pyramid, data portability