Canadians Are Complaining About the Internet More Than Ever

Rising public awareness over key issues such as internet throttling has triggered a sizable surge in complaints to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. The amount of Canadians sending their less-than-pleasant thoughts to the CRTC has increased exponentially; the last quarter of 2011 saw 41 complaints about internet traffic management practices, almost as many as were received throughout all of 2009 and 2010 combined.

In October 2011, Toronto-based Rogers Communications was infamously crowned the world's worst internet throttler. All of Canada's major service providers, except Telus, were found to have been throttling internet speeds in some manner.

But more complaints isn't necessarily a bad thing, some claim. Michael Geist, a University of Ottawa professor who holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and e-commerce Law, says that the dramatic change signals superior public awareness and improved transparency. Plus, perhaps as a result of the spike in complaints, the CRTC has ramped up its level of enforcement, taking more action against offenders.