The internet is going to lose its freeness

[Kizzume]

This is a continuation from another thread--

The internet is not going to be the bastion of free information that it once was.

With net neutrality not going through and with as much as the networks, the RIAA, and the MPAA are doing things, it will probably be illegal to download television commercials that aren't offered on official servers.

Free information isn't going to be so free. Yes, I said information. We're probably going to see some doors get closed that are going to basically cripple the usefulness of the internet. This is, of course, unless some major things change, like politicians actually being for the people instead of the corporations.

This is slightly political, but it's mainly technological, so unless it starts going heavy into politics, Technology & Computers is the section I have put this thread in.

[Hackfest]

Undoubtedly so, but I have always found that the best stuff on the net has been the stuff that PEOPLE contribute to it, and not the corporations. So as bad as it potentially is, the internet's usefulness will never be "crippled" to me.

[Kizzume]

hackfest said:

Undoubtedly so, but I have always found that the best stuff on the net has been the stuff that PEOPLE contribute to it, and not the corporations. So as bad as it potentially is, the internet's usefulness will never be "crippled" to me.

Actually, without net neutrality, the individuals putting out stuff will not be as accessible as the corporations putting out stuff, in fact, without net neutrality, individuals can eventually expect to have molasseses speeds on their servers.

[Ess2s2]

As far as freedom of information, I doubt that will ever be as serious an issue as you envision it to be Kizzume. With specialized information technologies and amateur coders always coming up with new ways to privately and publicly share information, the actual dissemination of data will always be in the hands of capable people. The internet is far beyond the reach of government now, and is a global infrastructure held up by ever changing technology.

The biggest threat I can foresee as far as the internet freedom goes is bandwidth. If all the major corporations that provide internet access withdraw, the net will suffer greatly in it's connectivity and accessibility. Fortunately, there are enough people who understand the mysterious set of pipes that is our modern communications systems that I doubt it would be long before someone (or a group of someones) pioneered a workable substitute. The great thing about modern technology is it is a product of man, and is therefore exploitable no matter how many padlocks are put into place.

At that point though, the choice to go on will be a personal one, much more so than now. It will be a question of "which laws are you wiling to defy? What consequences are you willing to accept for the ability to share information with other people?"

If you think about it, many people have already addressed these questions. The moral ambiguity of charging people for the free exchange of ideas through a given medium has always been in question. Some believe the more outside mediums we allow to be subsidized and therefore a source of revenue for private corporations, the more we restrict our own freedom of expression. Net neutrality is the very core of this notion. If a corporation can make money off of any aspect of communication, they will then work to restrict the flow of information to ensure they aren't losing money or allowing someone else to make money off of their niche in the market. An excellent case in point is the recent cavalcade of trade rulings of the various telcos against Vonage, basically boiling down to financially driven bully tactics over antiquated patents.

Ultimately, as it stands, those in the know have heretofore unknown levels of information access, and a great many places on the net (and behind, under, inside and around it) scare the living daylights out of groups and corporations who would like to see that information tightly controlled.

[Hackfest]

I do not believe it will come to fruition that "good speed" will only be for some, namely corporations. I have heard recently that it is proposed, but I think it will go as far as when the Post Office wanted to charge postage for email. And Ess's statement of "The internet is far beyond the reach of government now" is so powerfully true, that it can't be combated.

[Kizzume]

ess2s2 said:

As far as freedom of information, I doubt that will ever be as serious an issue as you envision it to be Kizzume. With specialized information technologies and amateur coders always coming up with new ways to privately and publicly share information, the actual dissemination of data will always be in the hands of capable people. The internet is far beyond the reach of government now, and is a global infrastructure held up by ever changing technology.

The biggest threat I can foresee as far as the internet freedom goes is bandwidth. If all the major corporations that provide internet access withdraw, the net will suffer greatly in it's connectivity and accessibility. Fortunately, there are enough people who understand the mysterious set of pipes that is our modern communications systems that I doubt it would be long before someone (or a group of someones) pioneered a workable substitute. The great thing about modern technology is it is a product of man, and is therefore exploitable no matter how many padlocks are put into place.

At that point though, the choice to go on will be a personal one, much more so than now. It will be a question of "which laws are you wiling to defy? What consequences are you willing to accept for the ability to share information with other people?"

If you think about it, many people have already addressed these questions. The moral ambiguity of charging people for the free exchange of ideas through a given medium has always been in question. Some believe the more outside mediums we allow to be subsidized and therefore a source of revenue for private corporations, the more we restrict our own freedom of expression. Net neutrality is the very core of this notion. If a corporation can make money off of any aspect of communication, they will then work to restrict the flow of information to ensure they aren't losing money or allowing someone else to make money off of their niche in the market. An excellent case in point is the recent cavalcade of trade rulings of the various telcos against Vonage, basically boiling down to financially driven bully tactics over antiquated patents.

Ultimately, as it stands, those in the know have heretofore unknown levels of information access, and a great many places on the net (and behind, under, inside and around it) scare the living daylights out of groups and corporations who would like to see that information tightly controlled.

Now there's someone with some great insight.

I have had a rather doomsday version of the whole thing, and what you say makes a LOT of sense. It fits with everything I know about the scene, and I guess I just wasn't taking everything into consideration. I'm going to have to modify my doomsday view of the whole thing now.