‘Net neutrality is a hotly contested topic. The proponents for ‘Net restriction claim it will grant more choices to the consumer, and will help deal with growing bandwidth problems. Those that support ‘Net neutrality claim it restricts innovation, and defiles the freedom the Internet is widely known for. Regardless of the arguments, an undeniable change in the way we access the Internet is coming in the form of broadband throttling or, as in the case of Time Warner and some other telecom giants, charging for bandwidth use in excess of that which is allotted monthly.
As a consumer, it’s difficult to gauge how much you use, and what you’re actually getting. Most people don’t possess the level of technical knowledge to monitor their connection and determine what they are getting from their ISP. Google claims that this lacks transparency and is a detriment to Internet use. To counter this, Google’s developers are working on a toolset that will enable consumers to see what it is they are actually getting, and whether it is what they actually paid for.
The discussion on the subject comes from Richard Whitt at Google, and the tools were announced at Innovation ’08 in San Francisco. Mr. Whitt says it would be easy for Google to fit into a non-neutral Internet: it certainly has the capital to buy as much premium attention as it wants. This runs against their ideals though, and also stifles creativity. As Whitt points out, Google could never have advanced in a non-neutral net world. Without creativity and the freedom of access, the Internet will start to look a lot more like television or the radio: Turn it to the channels available and tune out. For a bastion of free-thought and creativity, this could spell the end.
