By now most internet savvy folk have heard the infamous Ted Stevens speech about net neutrality, spawning off into a “SERIES OF TUBES!!!” meme on the internet of techno remixes and even jokes on the daily show.
However I think it’s important to note that Ted Stevens was a part of a Government board in charge of regulating the internet, something that doesn’t phase myself in the least. No matter what block the government comes up with, nerds will find a way around it, as has been demonstrated in China.
No, what really truly scares me are the companies who provide our “supply” of internet, such as Time Warner and Cox Cable. Right now it is profitable to keep a monthly based unlimited acces subscription model for the internet, but with our without government access there’s not much from keeping companies from changing their policies for allowing access for the internet.
What if companies started charging per page refresh for internet users or search hit for companies being hosted on the internet? Then any exploding phenomenon would have to be filtered through a site with premium access such as reddit or digg, restricting access to independent voices using the internet as a tool for free speech.
I don’t mean to be unnesscesarily paranoid, but it’s just food for thought to keep in mind. Instead of being afraid of the government getting involved and runing the internet, perhaps we should welcome government involvement as long as it protects consumers from internet providers limiting access to the information superhighway.
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