NYT:
Google and Verizon, two leading players in Internet service and content, are nearing an agreement that could allow Verizon to speed some online content to Internet users more quickly if the content’s creators are willing to pay for the privilege.I don't know if it's possible to lobby Google, but I'd say a massive users' campaign quoting this article and asking in big scary letters "HEY GOOGLE! WHAT HAPPENED TO "DON'T BE EVIL?" might get the company's attention. Perhaps a Google bomb would be appropriate. Posted by Linkmeister at August 4, 2010 08:45 PM | TrackBackThe charges could be paid by companies, like YouTube, owned by Google, for example, to Verizon, one of the nation’s leading Internet service providers, to ensure that its content received priority as it made its way to consumers. The agreement could eventually lead to higher charges for Internet users.
Such an agreement could overthrow a once-sacred tenet of Internet policy known as net neutrality, in which no form of content is favored over another. In its place, consumers could soon see a new, tiered system, which, like cable television, imposes higher costs for premium levels of service.
Any agreement between Verizon and Google could also upend the efforts of the Federal Communications Commission to assert its authority over broadband service, which was severely restricted by a federal appeals court decision in April.