{"id":210934,"date":"2014-05-17T22:39:52","date_gmt":"2014-05-17T22:39:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2014\/05\/17\/theres-not-one-internet-for-deep-pocketed\/"},"modified":"2014-05-17T22:39:52","modified_gmt":"2014-05-17T22:39:52","slug":"theres-not-one-internet-for-deep-pocketed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2014\/05\/17\/theres-not-one-internet-for-deep-pocketed\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s not one Internet for deep-pocketed corporations and a separate Internet for everyone else \u2014 there\u2019s the Internet, and it belongs to all of us. That\u2019s the way it\u2019s always been. And that\u2019s the way it should continue to be.
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\nBut the FCC could change all of that by giving big Internet providers \u2014 corporations like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, AT&T, and Verizon \u2014 the power to pick and choose which traffic reaches consumers quickly\u2014and which doesn\u2019t.
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\nNet neutrality has made the Internet a platform for innovation and economic growth. For example, YouTube started as a relatively small outfit above a pizzeria in a strip mall. YouTube wanted to compete with Google, which had an online video product called Google Video (later Google Videos). Net neutrality guaranteed that YouTube\u2019s and Google\u2019s videos would travel to consumers at the same speeds. Google wasn\u2019t able to pay for a fast lane or any other unfair advantage. Even though Google was a bigger, wealthier, more established company, it had to compete with YouTube on a level playing field. And YouTube ultimately won because it offered a better product.
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\nThat\u2019s what net neutrality is all about. There\u2019s not one Internet for deep-pocketed corporations and a separate Internet for everyone else \u2014 there\u2019s the Internet, and it belongs to all of us. That\u2019s the way it\u2019s always been. And that\u2019s the way it should continue to be.
\nThere aren\u2019t many places left where every American can participate on an equal footing with deep-pocketed corporate interests. Our campaign finance laws are in shambles, giving uber-wealthy, often-anonymous groups free rein to amplify their voices over those of the general population. Our tax code is littered with special benefits for special interests. The rules of our civil justice system have been rewritten to insulate corporations from wrongdoing against workers and consumers. But the Internet remains an arena where the quality of one\u2019s products, the value of one\u2019s services, and the persuasiveness of one\u2019s ideas matter more than the depth of one\u2019s pockets. The FCC needs to keep it that way.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Senator Al Franken: Chairman Wheeler\u2019s proposal would put start-ups and small businesses at a huge disadvantage. And the new costs created by this scheme will be passed along to consumers, who already are being squeezed by their cable and Internet bills. Big corporations will win; everyone else will lose. Americans never have tolerated this sort of thing, and we shouldn\u2019t start now, especially as the biggest Internet providers are trying to get even bigger through mega-mergers.<\/a> (via wilwheaton<\/a>)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s not one Internet for deep-pocketed corporations and a separate Internet for everyone else \u2014 there\u2019s the Internet, and it belongs to all of us. That\u2019s the way it\u2019s always been. And that\u2019s the way it should continue to be. \u00a0 But the FCC could change all of that by giving big Internet providers \u2014 … <\/p>\n

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