Access to the World Wide Web involves the combined production and services of a declining number of organizations. AT&T and Apple are essentially the sole companies granting many Americans connection to the Internet, and as smaller competition is eliminated, companies control more aspects of the presentation of an infinite amount of information.
Instances of utilizing power over the Internet can be rather minor, such as Apple’s decision to use its own software instead of Adobe Flash on many of their products, or a huge encroachment of human liberty, such as government takeover and denial of information.
Right now, the Internet remains a safe haven for questionable behavior. Almost any music, movies or software are available if an individual knows where to look. Purchase of illicit materials, ranging from drugs to weapons, are largely free from legal inspection. The Internet provides instructions to constructing pipe bombs or organizing an effective Ponzi scheme. Cyber-terrorism continues to threaten the defense systems of industrialized countries, and compromising the security of a Web site still isn’t too difficult a task for the determined hacker.
The potential future of the Internet ranges from utopian to totalitarian, yet American sentiments are nothing short of abysmal. A Consumer Reports poll in 2006 saw 70 percent of polled Internet users responding they “were concerned about providers blocking or impairing their access to Internet services or sites.” Yet a poll from later that same year performed by two research firms found only seven percent of Americans had even heard of net neutrality.
Depending on rulings regarding the rights of ISPs and their limitations, one future envisions a world with private companies monitoring the entirety of an individual’s Internet life. Expensive premiums would grant wealthier users preferential treatment in speed and access, with user-generated software banned in favor of purchasing applications provided by the company.
Another scenario, relatable to China, has the state censoring countless amounts of information without hesitation. Governments could easily distort information and present citizens with state-sanctioned lies on the country’s affairs. The emergence of tools like Google Instant paves the way for a nation to monitor searches, potentially bringing legal action against individuals who merely start to type in something deemed immoral or against the interests of the state.
In stark contrast, the Internet could grow into a community-based collection of data, following the success of user-driven collaboration like Wikipedia and open source operating systems.
Organizations like WikiLeaks embolden people to address issues in government and society, protecting “the integrity of our common historical record” (WikiLeaks). Equal access to the Internet could become a right as a human being, allowing for the largest pool of information and education humans have ever seen.
None of these scenarios are guaranteed with or without net neutrality; however, the next steps for the Internet deal with topics that breach sociology, politics, law, communications and technology. The Internet is more important than updating Facebook about your crazy weekend and looking for article summaries right before class; it’s potentially the greatest invention of mankind. Divisive contemporary arguments like peer-to-peer file sharing are just the beginning of years of debate on a person’s relationship with the Internet.
As control collects into smaller, manageable components, knowledge and concern over current issues should be on the minds of Americans as prominent as any other national discussion. If ordinary people continue with their passive acceptance on these decisions, the future remains up for grabs.