Net Neutrality: A Couple Thoughts Before Tomorrow's FCC Decision

Like the Ghost of Christmas Yet-To-Come, it's time for a midnight visit from one of Webcomics' perennial boogie-men, Net Neutrality. From The Raw Story:

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was expected this week to vote on a set of so-called "Net Neutrality" rules that some Democrats believed would fulfill a key Obama campaign promise to ensure all Internet traffic is treated equally.

Instead, rules authored by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski would allow for a greater fractioning of the Internet and data rationing on mobile and wired networks, according to analysis of the policies. Major network stakeholders like Verizon and AT&T would be able to sell bandwidth in capped tiers, with overage charges for users who download too much information, and certain types of data traffic like peer-to-peer file transfers could be banned altogether.

Senator Al Franken (D-Minn) has said that if the FCC passes its regulations, "the Internet as we know it would cease to exist."

The FCC probably will, and Franken is probably right. Since this is an FCC ruling, there are no congresspersons to write and no petitions to sign.

Telecom corporations like Comcast and Verizon have a lot of money at stake in this ruling. And they have deep pockets. Their concerns will outweigh any of those from the American people. This should surprise none of you.

It's time to start coming to grips that this is our future. If not now, then next year, or the year after that.

Log in to read the entire post.