(aka. America)
A few days ago, the FCC released that they were going to allow corporate sponsorship online. What that basically means, is that if you use more, buy more, play more, or anything more, you pay more. Not you or me directly, maybe, but the content providers and distributors—YouTube, Google, Yahoo—and that’s not even going into the smaller digital content websites who rely on having efficient access to their content in order for them to profit from it.
This means that Internet Service Providers now have the power to limit, censor or block any content that they feel isn’t what they want being sent down their lines, so they can allocate their bandwidth allowances the highest payers, so they (the content guys) can get their shit sent faster down the line to the front end; the consumer.
Huffington Post—I know, it’s not the best source, but I’m gonna go ahead and jump on this bandwagon, if only for the moment—stated the three reasons why this is pretty much bullshit, and you can get the link right here to read more up on it, cause my voice is reason is probably not the best to follow, but don’t let that stop you from hearing me out.
Huff Post is really adamant about the ‘we demand free, equal internet you capitalist bastards’ and I’m not really opposed to that kind of mindset. To me, breaking it down into its bare bones reveals one thing—the big guys are taking advantage of the little guys, and leaving them in the dust. Where have we seen that before?
Oh yeah. All the fucking time.
But it’s different here, at least I think so. I’m not Internet economics expert, or a guru on Net Neutrality, hell the term is confusing as it is, but I know for a fact that the Internet is one big fucking thing, and the adverse effects of this move, while not apparent now, will be apparent later.
Very, very apparent.
My guess is a lot of lag, a lot of unavailable websites, and hell, we’ll probably end up paying even more for a set amount of bandwidth space we’re allowed to have per month. These are just wild guesses, but I use the Internet a lot, so I’m gonna assume these are realistic scenarios, and ones that will piss me off.
Net Neutrality, as I understand it (not very well), is the concept of data that is sent through the net—text, video, image, anything—should be charged, like a tollbooth, the same rate. The whole debate is a debate on discrimination of data, in that those content providers and distributors that are the main creators and handlers of that data are now going to have big giant painful things stuck up them by the carriers, who handle how that data gets to you and I.
At first, when we get the ‘message’ it really appears that we shouldn’t care, but the carriers like a cab service they’re at the control room, sending out cabs. Some of those cabs are shitty fucking '86 Daewoos, and other ones, that the carrier can afford getting to you because someone else is paying them a shitton, is a Bugatti Veyron and arrives in style.
Fuck that, give everybody an Accord to get them. Shit.
Politically, this is not right wing, but it’s not left wing either, I mean, government control and all, but it’s the wrong type—this isn’t social aid funding or welfare development, this is corporate sector involvement, not to limit big business getting in the way, but freeing it up so they can fuck with our lives.
So, anybody fancy a cup of tea?
All in all, I blame Obama.
No, I’m joking, but it is kind of his fault. The dude hasn’t really done much except be black and talk about shit that he’s gonna do.
And then not do it.
Fuck you, man.
It’s his Christmas present to the digital world, and it’s a day late. Typical.
Nah, he’s a cool guy, but still, I have to put my hands up in the air sometimes, and say:
Like seriously man, the Internet’s gonna die.
It’s gonna die, man!
I don’t want it to die. =(
[via 4chan’s /v/ board originally, but the thread’s gone now, losers.]
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