quote:

Originally posted by idoru I thought that this bill was already denied? Maybe it was another one I'm thinking of, but I'm pretty sure it was this.

As far as I know the problem still exists. Several companies such as Ebay have began e-mailing members in order to let them know of this issue. This double dipping shit that companies want to pull (which will also extend to things such as VoIP) is a very serious issue which is still pretty much alive.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/28/o...r=1&oref=slogin
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/intern...toll/index.html

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How does this threat to Internet freedom affect you? * Google users—Another search engine could pay dominant Internet providers like AT&T to guarantee the competing search engine opens faster than Google on your computer. * Innovators with the "next big idea"—Startups and entrepreneurs will be muscled out of the marketplace by big corporations that pay Internet providers for dominant placing on the Web. The little guy will be left in the "slow lane" with inferior Internet service, unable to compete. * Ipod listeners—A company like Comcast could slow access to iTunes, steering you to a higher-priced music service that it owned. * Political groups—Political organizing could be slowed by a handful of dominant Internet providers who ask advocacy groups to pay "protection money" for their websites and online features to work correctly. * Nonprofits—A charity's website could open at snail-speed, and online contributions could grind to a halt, if nonprofits can't pay dominant Internet providers for access to "the fast lane" of Internet service. * Online purchasers—Companies could pay Internet providers to guarantee their online sales process faster than competitors with lower prices—distorting your choice as a consumer. * Small businesses and tele-commuters—When Internet companies like AT&T favor their own services, you won't be able to choose more affordable providers for online video, teleconferencing, Internet phone calls, and software that connects your home computer to your office. * Parents and retirees—Your choices as a consumer could be controlled by your Internet provider, steering you to their preferred services for online banking, health care information, sending photos, planning vacations, etc. * Bloggers—Costs will skyrocket to post and share video and audio clips—silencing citizen journalists and putting more power in the hands of a few corporate-owned media outlets.

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Originally posted by Psy-T can you give some examples of how the internet is more restricted now than it was say... 5 or 10 years ago?

i dunno if "restricted" would be the best term to describe the way internet has changed, but i dont think anyone can say that the internet is what it was like 10 years ago...i mean just consider some of the things the things that the internet gave birth to (spam, popups, worms, copyright issues, ads, etc..)and then consider that pretty much every one of these gave birth to a whole different sector of business and potential profit..and most of what i listed are just the negative consequences of the web...its no wonder that corporations are tryin to find a way to permanently capitalize on what essentially started as a free environment (or mostly free)

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"I refuse to bow down before a god I cannot look in the face." - Aesop Rock

"My loathings are simple: stupidity, oppression, crime, cruelty, soft music." - Vladimir Nabokov