Don't Be Evil

Image by: Tyler Jordan

Last night before going to bed, I read a piece in the NY Times about the latter stages of talks between search giant Google & telecom titan Verizon about a deal that would potentially pave the way for tiered pricing of internet access.  I was actually pretty taken aback because Google has been a vocal proponent of "net-neutrality" for years now.  For those of you who have been living on dial-up the last few years, net-neutrality is the principle that all information transmitted on the web is created equal, at least insofar as it's treatment by the "pipes" that carry that information. 

The internet has a storied history of innovative startups with peculiar names like Yahoo, Amazon, eBay and yes Google, rising up to challenge the old-guard of Corporate America and generate billions of dollars in value while facilitating waves of innovation worldwide.  This innovation has largely been premised on the ability of startups and individuals to reach a mass audience through the same media pipeline as established parties.  This is not true of television, or radio, or film or any other form of mass media.  The internet is literally the only platform on which the voices of both the powerful and the newly empowered can have equal access to the conduit for reaching a mass audience, if not the means of amplifying that reach.  If you've got a highspeed internet connection, you've got access to the world...

Now I hear some of you argumentative types thinking "well, what about the people who don't have broadband access?"  Forget about 'em.  Because by the time these folks get a decent connection, what Google & Verizon are allegedly proposing to do will have so fundamentally altered the nature of the internet, that a significant degree of it's informational, economic and democratizing power may have been already lost.  In a nutshell, Verizon wants to be able to charge people more to give their content privileged access to it's network.  This means that deep pocketed companies will be able to pay to ensure that their content reaches you "bigger, faster, better" than rivals who are unable to pay.

Take for example the case of a company like Comcast, which is awaiting approval on it's acquisition of NBC-Universal.  Comcast is a cable company that is on the verge of owning one of the world's largest content companies.  In the absence of net-neutrality, Comcast might decide they'd rather you watched TV shows online at Hulu.com (which is part owned by NBC-Universal), than on another site run by CBS (which is not currently airing it's programming on Hulu).  So you head over to CBS.com and all the videos run like molasses with mucho buffering and middling video quality, while everything on Hulu is in Mega-HD-whiz-boom-pam-thank-you-maam.  Bet you'll watch more videos on Hulu eh?

Comcast is betting so too.  And so is Verizon.  And now...so is Google.  If the issue were just about where you choose to watch your favourite sitcom, maybe it wouldn't be so dire.  But it's about much more.  It's a question of who controls access to information & what content is "privileged" over others.  Don't worry, you'll still get tons of porn, those guys have money to spare & are the reason the internet "goes fast" anyway.  But what happens to your ability to effectively access news from non-mainstream sources?  What happens to the music your favourite indie band is hoping to stream to you without selling her soul & career to a mega-corporation (or music service controlled by one).  And what happens to the next world-changing little company being launched by a kid in a college dorm?

That company gets started in Finland, or India or South Africa or anywhere else on the planet that understands that in this day, genuine innovation requires freedom of access to both information and the marketplace.  If Google & Verizon are successful in this collusion, other large companies may follow suit.  Given that Corporate America already owns Congress, don't be surprised if the FCC is forced (or willingly) rolls over on net-neutrality.  And if that happens you can kiss the future of IT in America bon voyage as it sails on to freer pastures.  I started out writing this wondering what happened to Google's mantra of "don't be evil?"  Now I can't stop thinking "don't be stupid."

D.N.A

Comments

[Jaime Rodriguez]

Youthful idealism, a community-minded mission statement and good intentions will ALWAYS be tempted by and, most likely, fall prey to the possibility of making a buck. This morality tale has been played out a million times since the dawn of man and it always ends the same way - good people (you and I Derrick) now have to spend time to keep from getting screwed by bad people (verizon and, unfortunately google).

[Florentine]

Awesome post Derrick. This is a critical issue that really needs a mass increase in public awareness. The internet has emerged with a force due to our innate desire to be free and to connect. People across this nation have been empowered by their freedom to access information of their choosing on virtually anything. Opportunities HAVE been opened up for the little guys and regular Joes to compete (for a great book on this, check out Chris Anderson's "The Long Tail").

I have lived in rural, third world conditions where I have witnessed firsthand the power that very small amounts of very basic information have to very completely transform the lives of people and communities. We take for granted in this nation the power and freedom that the internet truly offers us; in this nation where we are bombarded by information-overload and yes, where our brains are constantly having to fight off attacks by advertisers. As our rights and freedoms have been hijacked over time by our corporate-owned government, our freedom to share and access information may be one of our last great frontiers of freedom we have left, and we ought to protect it with everything we have got. This is one of those moments in time where I feel like the future of humanity, the future of a any hope for a free civiliation, is hanging in the balance. I would rather die a torturous death than tell my children and grand-children that I sat by and did nothing as humanity's final freedoms were taken away.

I am ready to stand with you in a revolution, my friend. What do you propose we do? Start a boycott of both Google and Verizon until they take the deal off the table? Start a door-to-door grassroots public awareness campaign? Protest outside the headquarters of Google and Verizon? As of today, Google will no longer be my Homepage, until they announce the deal is off and show their commitment to net-neutrality. Its been YEARS since I have used a search engine other than Google. Can anyone suggest the next best alternative?

Let's get to rumbling and make waves on the airwaves. . . while we still have a free and equal voice on the internet!

[admin]

@Jaime it is indeed always the way. The most shocking thing about it all is how vocal Google was in promoting the idea of net-neutrality. The phrase "power corrupts" never seems to lose it's relevance.
@Florentine if you want a good search alternative try Bing.com. Microsoft was also a vocal supporter of net-neutrality, but it's hard to say right now where all these folks are going to shakeout. The big thing is that FCC Chairman Genachowski needs to reclassify "broadband" service as a Title II Telecommunications Service (like phone service) which the FCC will then have broader authority to regulate. As of now it's shaping up to be a partisan fight. Let's see where the battle lines are drawn before you start shooting...