Posted by Vince Wadhwani on Oct 09, 2006

There's been a lot of talk about Net Neutrality lately with big companies lining up on both sides of the debate. Unlike your usual legislative battle the participants are mostly companies with lots at stake. Both claim to support the the people in one way or the other but somehow the consumer is not engaged in the conversation and seems to think that, like in most cases, the companies with the deepest overall pockets will succeed. For the most part this is probably true, but with Net Neutrality the very fabric of our society is at stake. I will briefly explain why I think that:

You see, the Romans had it right. Their empire fared better than many over the course of history and the biggest reason is that they knew how to govern. They knew that there were simply two things required to keep a population in control. Bread and Circus. Forget one ('let them eat cake' anyone?) and your government is doomed. Control both and you control how fast your population expands, what they see, and what their attitudes are. (Sounds a bit like the Matrix, eh?)

In the United States there is no shortage of food. Restaurants of all sizes and affiliations overcompensate on portions in exchange for extra profits. They will give you a double portion which may cost them an extra $.25 and charge you a little less than double the price.. say $1-$3. The consumer feels like he/she is getting a good value and, unfortunately, feels obligated to finish the portions allocated to them. However, this is not a discussion about our food supply. (Please take a look at Fast Food Nation if you want to to delve into this side further.) Rather it's the other part of the equation I want to examine. Circus.

Circus? You haven't been to the circus in years! Or ever! No, I'm not talking literally. Circus can mean any form of entertainment that the population has in common. Today, and for the last 50 years, the role of the circus has been filled by Television. Indeed, TV brings America closer together. We talk about what happened on Seinfeld or Lost with friends all around the country. Sure there's a time difference and maybe the commercials vary but for the most part we consume the same entertainment nationwide. Radio is another example of this. There are a few big record labels (e.g. Sony) and radio stations (e.g. Clear Channel) that push the same songs at us everywhere all at the same time.

Whether you are talking about the Colosseum, Circus, Radio, or Television there is one common thread. The discussion is one way. You look at the circus and look at the TV. You listen to what they are telling or singing to you on the radio. You read the book.

But what about the Internet? Go ahead and leave this page and visit ESPN. Feel free. This page will be here when you get back. Not only that, if you disagree with anything I've written there's an entire comments section at your disposal. Not enough? Send an email to some of your friends. Not enough? Blog about it yourself. Not enough? Put up your own website. Not enough? Create a video on YouTube. You get the idea. There are dozens of ways for any individual citizen to make an opinion or grievance known today. The conversation is, at minimum, TWO ways. You get the input, process it and reply to it if desired. This scares the living hell out of the government.

It's the closest the population has been to giving timely feedback since the thumbs up and thumbs down at Roman Colosseums. Just like in those times the stakes are life and death. However, unlike those times, it affects more than just one person at a time.

The other thing that the Internet is allowing us to do is break down the distribution of information. As I mentioned in another article, the Press is often called the 4th branch of government. They are relied on to disseminate information to the populace. That's great but it also means that they control the information through what they choose to report. Skip an important event and nobody knows about it. Spend a lot of time talking about something useless and it distracts from other issues that demand our attention or becomes self-important.

As you know, with the Internet, that still happens. A few web sites control 99% of the traffic. Of those, many get news from the same sources (e.g. AP or Reuters). Still, having a few hundred places to get news is better than having four or five. Sites like Digg do a good job of filtering relevant stories and bringing the worthy ones to the attention of a larger audience. Others, like Fark, do a admirable job of bringing to our attention a wide variety tidbits. Still others, like Slashdot or OSNews, have pushed us forward by giving us a forum to discuss ideas and events specific to a narrow topic.

All of the above sites, rely on stories from more than just a few sources. They grab content from anyone who has something important to say. In fact, this is where they really add value. But with the loss of Net Neutrality, the voices they seek to amplify may be too soft to hear. The visions they seek to show could be too distorted to clearly make out. The dialog they would encourage may be too mumbled to be understood.

The result will be the destruction of many good ideas and the squashing of many legitimate voices. The pace at which bad information is thrown away will once again slow down to pre-1995 levels. The innovation advantage that we have enjoyed will slow. It will be terrible for America.

But it will be fantastic for politicians. First they will be able to limit the number of sites that Americans gain access to with any regularity then they will exert pressure on those sites to toe the line and give only messages that support the government. If you think this administration is scary. Just think of how bad it would be if we didn't have a voice online through which to condemn it.

Arundhati Roy said "[W]hen you live in the United States, with the roar of the free market, the roar of this huge military power, the roar of being at the heart of empire, it's hard to hear the whispering of the rest of the world. And I think many U.S. citizens want to."

The taming of the Internet will once again dampen our whispers. For the sake of the citizens who want to speak I beg you not to let that happen.

So here is the important part.

  1. Find out who your senator and representative is.
  2. Write to them. Simply tell them that keeping the Internet neutral is important to you. Fancy words not required.. just let them know what you think and that you are paying attention.

Being a citizen in like getting in a taxi cab. If you don't tell the driver (your Congressional Representative) where you want to go, you'll end up where it's to their advantage to take you. You'll have to pay the price and you'll forfeit any right to complain. Why would anyone in their right mind agree to such a deal? The most brutal enemy facing future generations is your apathy.

As always feel free to disagree as loudly as you like so long as you're polite. I'm not a paid writer I'm an engineer with something I just had to say. You can visit Save the Internet for more information on Net Neutrality. Or, check out these YouTube Videos: