The End of the Internet?": analysis of telco war on open networks

[cyberpj]

Snip from "The End of the Internet?,"
an article by Jeff Chester in the current issue of The Nation:

The nation's largest telephone and cable companies are crafting an alarming set of strategies that would transform the free, open and nondiscriminatory Internet of today to a privately run and branded service that would charge a fee for virtually everything we do online.

Verizon, Comcast, Bell South and other communications giants are developing strategies that would track and store information on our every move in cyberspace in a vast data-collection and marketing system, the scope of which could rival the National Security Agency.

According to white papers now being circulated in the cable, telephone and telecommunications industries, those with the deepest pockets--corporations, special-interest groups and major advertisers--would get preferred treatment. Content from these providers would have first priority on our computer and television screens, while information seen as undesirable, such as peer-to-peer communications, could be relegated to a slow lane or simply shut out.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060213/chester

I have a hacker friend who's slogan is: Man makes it, man can break it. He says let them try whatever they want, there's no such thing as a code that can't be broken.

[IDemo]

1. See GD, below:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=309630&mesg_id=309630

[northamericancitizen]

2. Thanks for this specific info.

Lately, I have been quite involved in searching about my next career (passion) .

I narrowed my choices down to "almost" any kind of career in a cyberspace environment.

Doing what? I don't know for sure yet. I just know for certain that Internet has to continue on being open to everybody.

Free : $0

Free speech : no search and no linking from any kind of establishment.