Net nuetrality and the changing of the web as we know it
Not too long ago I had an article about an ISP/telecom executive that floated the idea of charging some BIG web sites to make sure they had a fast connection/delivery to the ISP’s customers. In effect, they would prioritize traffic for the bigger websites that were able to pay for the added benefit. Those that didn’t pay would have slower access by the ISP’s customers. One of the questions I floated at the time is what if someone has a politically unpopular site, and no money, are they dropped into the slow lane/ How slow? Maybe a political candidate…? This has potentially bad implications…
Unfortunately it looks like this may be closer to reality… The Baltimore Sun has an op/ed
The proposed House legislation, the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act (COPE), offers no protections for “network neutrality.”
Currently, your Internet provider does not voluntarily censor the Web as it enters your home. This levels the playing field between the tiniest blog and the most popular Web site.
Yet the big telecom companies want to alter this dynamic. AT&T and Verizon have publicly discussed their plans to divide the information superhighway into separate fast and slow lanes. Web sites and services willing to pay a toll will be channeled through the fast lane, while all others will be bottled up in the slower lanes. COPE, and similar telecom legislation offered in the Senate, does nothing to protect the consumer from this transformation of the Internet.
The telecoms are frustrated that commercial Web sites reap unlimited profits while those providing entry to your home for these companies are prevented from fully cashing in. If the new telecom regulations pass without safeguarding net neutrality, the big telecom companies will be able to prioritize the Web for you. They will be free to decide which Web sites get to your computer faster and which ones may take longer – or may not even show up at all.
It’s H.R. 5252 and it could radically change the internet. Of course, there is a website setup to address the issue/organize information and encourage action…. Save the Internet
There is another good writeup on the subject at The Sunbelt Blog.