Net neutrality danger

You may not know what net neutrality is, but it is possible that a recent court decision may create a situation you will not like. Net neutrality requires providers to treat all data as equivalent. The provider can control the rate at which data are sent, but cannot send some forms of data faster than others. The problem with differential data rates is that providers could act in their own interests rather than yours and prioritize data that suits their financial needs. For example, a cable provider may slow video to your computer because the video you view on the computer is in competition with the movies the cable provider wants to sell. A DSL provider may slow VOIP traffic because it wants to sell you phone service. As you evaluate this potential problem you can see the unique difficulties such a ruling may hold for those in areas with only one service provider. With only one alternative available, your provider has a monopoly and cannot be leveraged by market pressure.

P.S. Several detailed analyses of this decision have come out since I generated my initial post. I am providing links here.

ReadWriteWeb

CNet

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