Arianna
points out the term Net Neutrality sounds more like a 'Swiss tennis match' than a conspiracy to take over the internet. But that's just what it is. Big Telecom, companies like AT&T and Verizon who operate the data lines that the internet runs on, want to throw out the first amendment of the internet; they want to auction off the ability for one website to load faster than others. What does that mean?
Allowing Big Telecom to toss out Net Neutrality akin to letting an automaker bid on free reign over our roadways -- a Mad Max pass, if you will. Imagine if everyone who owned a certain vehicle, let's say a Hummer, was allowed to drive as fast as they wanted and given right away in intersections and passing lanes. Of course, many Hummer owners seem to think they've already been awarded this right... but I digress.
This would have two consequences:
First, every time you approached an intersection in your Corolla or Caravan or Expedition, you'd have to slow down and check to make sure a Hummer wasn't barreling down on you. Getting around would much slower for everyone... except Hummer owners.
Second, this would do wonders for sales of Hummers... and hinder the sales of every other car. Now, imagine if the company auctioning off the Mad Max pass was some one who built the Hummer; they would have an enormous competitive advantage over other automakers.
The internet, like our roads and highways, has become an integral part of our daily lives. It is a public resource that we all depend on for business, commerce and personal communication. The Big Telecom companies are already paid -- and paid well -- to provide the pipes that carry our data. But it's not enough for them, they want to leverage our resource for their own competitive advantage. If they succeed, it will stifle entrepreneurship and freedom of expression, limit consumer choice and give Big Telecom competitive advantage over any other company providing services on the internet: from Google to Vonage to Microsoft.
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UPDATE: I changed a few lines, especially the first paragraph, to add clarity.