A long held operating principle of the Internet is 'neutrality,' whereby information is passed from sender to receiver, without having to first go through the equivalent of a toll booth. Yet, that's what could happen if Congress goes along with the big telecom companies.
Some accuse the telecom giants of attempting to unfairly profit from their investment in IP networks by charging content providers extra to guarantee prompt delivery of their data. Ultimately all content could be subject to different classes of service based on extra fees for preferential treatment.
Under this scheme, the telecom companies could also favor use of their own search engines, which would steer users to preferred content, or block content from competitors entirely. They could do the same with VoIP services: slow down the performance of competitors' services, while guaranteeing the best possible performance for their own.
There is the very real possibility that the quality and responsiveness of the Internet could suffer, stalling innovation and negatively impacting the economy, which has become 'net dependent.'
Worse yet, Congress will have established a precedent for further meddling with the Internet that could erode its value over time, as it gets shaped and reshaped by political forces.
