I must confess to not closely following the battle for net neutrality. I should, I know…but for some reason this vitally important issue seldom sticks to my consciousness. Sadly, it appears that I’m not alone in my lack of vigilance, and we have only myself and people like me to blame. As of yesterday, net neutrality, the idea that information on the Internet should not be held hostage by corporations and that all traffic should be treated equally, is a quaint idea but little more.
We now live in a world where corporations have been accorded legal status as people and can donate unlimited amounts of money to political campaigns. Following that logic, corporations can and likely will buy elections. Add to this the new reality that corporations now have the absolute right to control the information that flows through the Internet tubes under their control. Information, which until now most Americans have largely taken for granted, may now be treated like any other commodity, monetized and marketed like corn, soybeans, or toilet paper. Corporations like Comcast may well be able to control the flow of information based on who is willing to pay for access. No pay, no play. Seems simple enough…except for the reality that a people denied the free flow of information can and should make a claim to not being nearly as free as they’d thought they were.
Freedom and liberty aren’t defeated by large, flashy events. No, they’re nibbled to death by those who use the charges charged with protecting our freedom and liberty to their own advantages. A little bit here…a little bit more there…and pretty soon we awaken to discover that George Orwell was prescient, if a bit ahead of his time.
I’m not going to pretend that I possess and in-depth understand of the practical impact of yesterday’s decision, but given the direction this seems to be heading, it’s hard to feel good about it. Freedom isn’t supposed to be relative, and it sure as Hell shouldn’t be subject to the whims of a corporation concerned only about its bottom line.
