Security

Have no doubt about it.  There is a major turf war going on today regarding the future of the Internet and your access to it.  The stakes are high, the players are rich, and the outcome will define exactly what your Internet experience will be like for the rest of your life. 

On Sundays I offer comments on some of the most interesting information technology stories that I have found on the web that week.  Please feel free to join in the discussion or suggest other stories.

Today’s comments are associated with a well written, AP News story reporting on the most recent US Court of Appeals decisions regarding so called Net Neutrality.  At issue is exactly who gets to regulate your Internet experience and access, who gets to decide what you see and don’t see, and what regulating agencies, bodies, and governments get to determine it.  Give it a read below.

Associated Press News – FCC loses key ruling on Internet `neutrality’

“A federal court threw the future of Internet regulations into doubt Tuesday with a far-reaching decision that went against the Federal Communications Commission and could even hamper the government’s plans to expand broadband access in the United States.”

Whoever writes the first draft determines the direction of a concept forever.  The group that gets to ratify the standard defines the technology forever.  The governing body that wins the right to regulate and legislate a topic defines its fate forever.  This is not an exaggeration.  Your television set was a 4:3 ratio for forty years because of this.  You could not have bad words and nudity in prime time for forty years because of this.  You were stuck with lousy wireless Internet access for a decade because someone else decided what was allowed and not allowed in the spectrum.  For over fifty years you had to rent your telephone from the monopoly that owned telephone service to your house, could not touch the interior wires, and had to pay highway robbery rates to call the next area code for this idea.

Today we find ourselves at the cross roads of the exact same battles on the Internet.  Big business is fighting tooth and nail to keep Internet regulation, control, and judgments outside of the Executive Branch of the US Government and firmly entrenched in the Legislative Branch.  Why?  Well, the cynic would say that it is because the Executive Branch is almost immune from direct lobbying efforts and the Legislative Branch is highly susceptible le to lobbying, donation vote influence, and loyalty to industry groups.  The super cynic would say that the Legislative Branch has a history of taking no action – beneficial to business, while the Executive Branch garners great public benefit from tackling Wall Street.

I want a free, open, neutral Internet where the service provider is nothing more than… well a service provider.  I don’t want them being in the content creation and sales business because it will undoubtedly lead to conflicts of interest that get resolved in the favor of profits and against consumers every time. I don’t care which branch of government gets to call the shots, but can see from the unfolding drama and intensity that Big Business sure does.  Consumers – if we don’t watch it, the fight will be over before we even know that it started… and that is bad for everyone. 

What do you think about this topic?  Do you agree or disagree with me? Do you have a recommended news story for next week? Please share your ideas below.

That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for April 11, 2010  by Scott Coughlin.