NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] AT&T's Sponsored Data is bad for the internet, the economy, and you
AT&T's Sponsored Data is bad for the internet, the economy, and you
http://j.mp/1iLYXyu (Verge)
"Again, that sounds great - as consumers, we'd get more for our money -
but in reality it's a way for AT&T to levy taxes on companies who can
afford to pay. That has huge implications for the free market of the
internet: if YouTube doesn't hit your data cap but Vimeo does, most
people are going to watch YouTube. If Facebook feels threatened by
Snapchat and launches Poke with free data, maybe it doesn't get
completely ignored and fail. If Apple Maps launched with free data for
navigation, maybe we'd all be driving off bridges instead of
downloading Google Maps for iOS. That's not fair competition; that's
just pay-to-play. Pull the thread out even farther and it gets even
more evil: if sponsored data becomes a de facto cost of business in
the exploding mobile market, those costs will just get passed right
back to consumers. That "free" $4.99 Elysium rental will just end up
costing $5.99, and advertising in apps like Facebook will just get
more intrusive and creepy. And rest assured that AT&T will find a way
to keep your service rates high and your contract terms restrictive;
nothing about this plan involves shifting AT&T's profits, just
increasing them. Lower-income customers on cheaper plans will be
disproportionately affected: you and I might still pay for data and
use whatever services we want, but anyone counting bits will be
buffeted into a world of corporate control."
- - -
It is obvious that this AT&T plan creates a fundamental incentive for
AT&T to keep data caps as low as possible, forcing more and more
subscribers to mostly or completely deal with firms willing (or
compelled for their own survival) to pay off AT&T as part of this
scheme. And if courts rule against the weak net neutrality provisions
currently in place, you can bet your bottom dollar this same idea will
spread to non-mobile Internet services as well.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein
Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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