The dangers of the two-tiered Internet

Google has reached a controversial agreement on net neutrality. This controversial agreement will give Internet access providers from telecommunications and cable companies new leverage over web traffic. Google and the largest telecom operator in the US, Verizon, have issued a “Joint Policy Proposal for an Open Internet.” Google and Verizon hope that this policy will become a successful model for others in the industry to follow. As a result of this “joint policy,” telecommunications companies will be allowed to charge media companies that want preferential treatment for traffic between their websites. Similarly, the increasingly important devices for Internet access, namely smartphones (BlackBerrys, iPhones and Google Android), will also be charged.

In addition, the agreement between Google and Verizon will allow telecommunications and cable companies to sell preferential access to broadband networks in homes and offices, as long as it is for services that are not currently available on the Internet. These firms have long wanted permission to sell access to a “fast lane” Internet to the highest bidder, which they argue is critical to raising the money they need to invest in more and faster broadband. Net neutrality is the principle on which the Internet was built and this principle implies that all traffic is treated equally, with the same access for large companies and small bloggers or start-ups.

However, the US regulator, the Federal Communications Commission, was shown unable to enforce the rule after a legal challenge that was supported by the cable industry. Many activists believe that because of Google’s net neutrality agreement with Verizon, the danger is unavoidable, that is the danger of a two-tier Internet dominated by big corporations. Activists are shocked that this is a principle that Google once embraced and has now lost. Verizon agreed that it would not slow down access to its broadband network for current users or traffic types, as long as it complied with the law.

However, Verizon has gotten the dangerous right to preferential charging rates. This should be for “additional and differentiated online services,” the couple said. Google and Verizon said these new services may “include healthcare monitoring, the smart grid, advanced education services, or new entertainment and gaming options.” However, they also stated that “it is too early to predict how these new services will develop.”