Toll-booth operators for the Internet?
[sigh]
In a public hearing Tuesday, the Senate Commerce Committee took another step toward determining if Congress needs to pass a law to maintain what is known as “Net neutrality” -- the idea that owners of phone and cable networks cannot discriminate against particular Web sites. Some lawmakers are pushing for a bill while others are wary of government intervention absent a clear problem (Market Watch).
The nightmare begins:
In recent months, however, CEOs of several large phone companies, including AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp., have suggested that popular Web sites such as Google and Yahoo ought to pay fees in exchange for making sure their customers get reliable access to their pages (Market Watch).
Personally, this sounds like extortion. “If yous wants that people should sees your site, yous should pay for insurance.” The first corporate mafia style protection money scam? This is the worse thing to happen to the internet since China... If this practice is allowed, what's next? Can they charge you more to call people you call more often to insure a quality connection? What happens if they try to charge a smaller site like this one? I couldn't afford to pay they networks for access.
Contact your senators and congressional representative and ask them to stop this outrageous practice.