Ask HN: What is the Google/Verizon net-neutrality story all about?
Can somebody explain, briefly and in layman's terms, the scandalous pact of Google and Verizon?
Was this truly surprising? How bad is it really? In short, what is going on?
Was this truly surprising? How bad is it really? In short, what is going on?
Google has long represented themselves as 'not evil'. Large segments of the tech community bought into it and overlooked certain things that google has done overtime. After all despite various issues, they were a strong proponent of net-neutrality. Basically, that all traffic flowing over the internet should be treated as equal. In addition, they advocated giving enforcement powers to FTC.
Flash forward and Google at some point realized that this wasn't nec. something that benefited them. They were apparently in talk with Verizon for the past 10 months to craft a framework for net neutrality that basically showed that they are in fact a corporation out for their own interests not some altruistic organization that people could project their idea of what 'not evil' is upon.
some basic points from the framework:
the wired internet should be traffic neutral expect where users or network operators are blocking unwanted traffic etc.
that there should be no such rules for wireless but that any traffic shaping etc that telecom companies do should be 'transparent'.
that new services should be allowed to run along side what we now call the internet and not be subject to same rules as the 'open internet'.
there are lots of analysis of the massive loopholes in the various points. there are many troublesome points if you believe in net neutrality or something close to it. i'm sure you can find plenty of different articles covering various finer points if you are interested enough.
i doubt this agreement would have drawn the same ire were it not for the aforementioned belief that many people clung to that google was somehow different from other companies.