The telcos and cable companies are close to completing their attempt to take over the Internet. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) almost pushed through legislation that would allow them to gorge on profits milked from other big companies, while disrupting or destroying small web sites unable or unwilling to pay the freight. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) currently has the legislation stopped unless a net neutrality provision is inserted to ensure that ISPs are not able to interfere with the content that passes through their pipes. (I’ve previously written about net neutrality here and here.
This article from Portland’s Willamette Week is a great summary of the background and issues surrounding the net neutrality debate. It may seem like an arcane issue but it has the potential to change our lives enormously – literally changing the very nature of the Internet.
