Deep packet inspection and bandwidth management: Battles over BitTorrent in Canada and the United States

Authors:
Milton L. Mueller;Hadi Asghari
Affiliations:
School of Information Studies, 307 Hinds Hall, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA;Delft University of Technology, Jaffalaan 5, 2628 BX Delft, Netherlands
Venue:
Telecommunications Policy
Year:
2012

Citing 4
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Abstract

Two case studies explore the reciprocal influence between technological change and Internet governance. Both focus on the use by Internet service providers of a new capability known as deep packet inspection (DPI). DPI was used by major network operators in the U.S. and Canada to block or restrict the speed of peer to peer file sharing traffic by their customers. In both cases, DPI implementations led to public protests, litigation and major regulatory proceedings. In both cases, network neutrality norms were used to challenge DPI deployments. The paper's descriptive comparison is supplemented by quantitative data drawn from the use of Glasnost, a network test that allows third parties to detect BitTorrent throttling via DPI. The paper asks whether the use of DPI by ISPs disrupted the way the Internet is regulated, and whether political and institutional factors alter or constrain DPI use. It finds that the power to shape traffic flows redistributes control among actors in the Internet ecosystem, generating broad political economy debates about efficiency, fairness, innovation and transparency. But the actual results of those conflicts are indeterminate, reflecting institutional and historical contingencies.