Silicon Valley was never in favor of net neutrality to benefit consumers. It was about protecting its own business model. Those companies rely on ISP’s, transit providers and network carriers to connect them to end consumers. They realized if those companies decide to regulate Silicon Valley they way they regulate the rest of the world, then it would be bad business. And they are not wrong.
Then some smart people started to ask. Wait a second? Should we also not include the end pipes into net neutrality? Why should we only regulate the start of the connection (ISP) the transit (network carriers) but not the end links (datacenters?).
Anyone that thinks a site like Facebook or Google is just a mere website is delusional. The owners of the biggest datacenters on the planet are habited by the same companies. Those companies have more network cables, more routers and more switches than ALL the ISP’s and network carriers in the world combined. Yes, combined they are still no match!
And here comes the scary thing. A significant % of the worlds Internet traffic, every night ends up in the same Internet properties. A simple website? No. They are not just websites anymore. They own millions of servers, load balancers, routers, data centers, and networks and even domains, all over the world. Those companies don’t control how the traffic goes to their properties which is what they demanded with net neutrality, but they surely control where it and how it ends.
What happens when people in markets that understand how these companies work asked them also to be included into net neutrality talks? Silence. Net neutrality disappeared as soon as it started because suddenly none of the big tech companies in Silicon Valley where promoting it anymore. I call it double standards. Net neutrality was never about protecting consumers. It was about protecting their monopolies. Some of those ISP’s and providers also have websites, and some offer similar services to those companies. Google also provides Internet services. Who draws the line on what one company can provide but not another?
For me. It is simple. When you control a big chunk of all the internet packets in the world and those end on your properties you should be regulated. At this point, you have the power to break or create. It is not a secret that tech innovation is dying. No investors want to fund companies anymore that will compete vs. some of those tech giants. People at home are not starting new websites or new tech ventures. The Internet is growing smaller and more silence, not more significant as more and eyeballs move into the same company’s month after month. This is not what the Internet was all about. It was about the fair level of competition, an Internet where everyone had the same equal chances to compete and be successful. Open.
The irony is that almost all network carriers and providers are neutral to companies like Google or Facebook. What would happen if they disconnect their datacenters with the same hate speech or breaking TOS argument as Google or Facebook bans pages or YouTube channels? When you have the power to create a business or destroy it, then you are hurting the Internet. And those companies have not only control over US consumers but the whole planet. I do not believe any single company or individual such have this amount of power. Not when you are able to change governments and topple democracies. These companies are sadly not neutral anymore, yet they ask everyone else to be neutral with them. This is not fair play and is a dishonest model.
Recently companies like Facebook and Google started to abuse its position exponentially. More particular against conservatives or pro republican content. This is not a secret. Banning content based on political believes is crossing the line. Facebook claims in court they are a publisher and entitled to free speech but in public they say they are a platform. Google repeatably claimed free speech rights in court to defend themselves against censorship in past years now denies the same free speech right to some of its users.
Why should a corporation be willing to use the same rights they deny to its own customers? When did America stop supporting freedom? Freedom of business, freedom of speech, freedom of ideas, freedom to both religious and political beliefs. My heart sinks when I say those companies do not believe in any of those values when it comes to its users. I’m sorry Google. I’m sorry Facebook, and I’m even sorry Amazon. You are not neutral, and you are hurting competition. It’s time to break them up. America was always against the mass concentration of power.
The Internet needs changes. It requires innovation and more open competition. It is time for a change.
