The Hidden Harms of Application Bias

Application bias, the practice by network operators of placing applications into tiers of low and high priority and enforcing this prioritization through mechanisms in the middle of the network, poses hidden harms for the Internet that substantially outweigh its uncertain benefits. Application bias degrades low priority applications, decreases overall network performance, and locks the Internet into typical usage patterns of 2009, frustrating both consumer choice and Internet innovation. At the same time, the biggest hurdle to offering more powerful services on the Internet is not congestion, but rather delayed deployment of truly high-speed Internet access services. Application bias cannot make a small pipe into a larger one-prioritization cannot turn a rural DSL line into a fiberoptic cable, though it can perversely create disincentives from doing just that. With application bias, the benefits remain uncertain, but the risks to a dynamic and diverse Internet future are crystal clear.

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