Internet may not always imply freedom

We are used to thinking of the Internet as total freedom. The reason for this, is that the Internet is based on a packet switching network, designed to route around any damage to the Internet. In its simplest form, the routing algorithm could be "hot potato": just throw the packet you receive in any direction until it reaches it's destination. This is very inefficient, but also nigh impossible to disrupt or control.

Today the routers of the Internet uses more sophisticated protocols than hot potato. There is as risk in that. By looking at source IPs, priority fields or by signing packets, the Internet could become more inequal. That is exactly what Bell South's CTO William L. Smith wants. From Washington Post:

William L. Smith, chief technology officer for Atlanta-based BellSouth Corp., told reporters and analysts that an Internet service provider such as his firm should be able, for example, to charge Yahoo Inc. for the opportunity to have its search site load faster than that of Google Inc.

I think this guy's scheme will fail, but we must never forget that the freedom of the Internet can easily be reversed and the homogenous web space we take for granted, balkanized.

(Via slashdot)