Image by Steve Rhodes via Flickr
Let's go back in time, shall we, to around 1997 when Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were college students at Stanford. Let's suppose that there were no such thing as net neutrality, that the idea the internet should be an open place never occurred to anyone.
By 1997, that would have meant that the likes of Microsoft, AOL and Compuserve would probably have been in control of the pipes. Quite possibly if this were the case, the innovation that lead to Google, Amazon, eBay and so many others might never have ever happened because they would have been given a lower priority to get onto the internet. Given an element of total control, one could argue that Microsoft and to a lesser extent the other big players of the time would have taken control and muscled aside upstarts like Google.
That's why Google's (and Verizon's) plan (to the extent I understand it and I'm not sure anyone does completely) is so insidious. It has the potential at least to kill the golden goose of innovation on the internet, and I for one don't think that risk is even remotely worth taking.
The Democrats and Republicans alike make a lot of noise about supporting small business. Anyone remember Joe the freaking Plumber? But setting up some sort of private set of pipes as has been proposed creates two classes of internet: one for the haves (aka control freaks) like Google, Microsoft, Verizon, AT&T and other large corporate interests, and one for the rest of us (along with a third one for wireless and I'm not clear who controls that).
This is an incredibly complex issue to sort out, and I don't claim to understand all of it (or probably even a small part of it), but this much I know. Google and Verizon are going to be looking out first and foremost for their own corporate interests just as you would expect them to do. 'Do no Evil' not withstanding, I dont' trust any major corporate entity (especially one with something clearly to gain) to be the voices of reason on this issue and neither should you.
If you believe that there should BE "network neutrality" regulation at all, you're already trusting Google. The myths and scare stories have been propagated by "astroturf" lobbyists paid by Google.
If you do not trust Google, you should be skeptical of any regulation of the Net. After all, it's done just fine for more than 27 years with no regulation.
Posted by: Brettglass | August 12, 2010 at 01:33 AM
Hi Brett:
I believe we are in agreement in principle on this one.
Thanks for the comment.
Ron
Posted by: Ron Miller | August 12, 2010 at 05:53 AM