Today in !!Free Markets!!

Remember that net neutrality bullshit that Liss et al., have been prattling on about since forever?

The end is near.

Rumor has it that Verizon and Google have just signed (or will in the near future... it's all super-secret and free-markety ATM) an agreement over giving certain material preferential treatment on the internet. The Times reports that this would only apply to the wireless portion of the interwebs, so it's only a gradual erosion of the fundamental character of the web. Also, it only applies to content associated with Google (more to come I'm sure, but again the negotiations are all dark and free-markety), which is mostly totally worthless stuff like YouTube videos of skateboarding cats and blogs that advocate against rape culture and fat hatred.

We're right around the corner from powerful corporations controlling the cost of accessing and making accessible specific types of information on the internet. The digital divide is very real, but it's about to get far, far worse.

Want to access your favorite social justice blog? You may have to pay extra if you want to get it to load in a reasonable amount of time (especially if you're already prone to a slow connection). How about online support and information of the kind that saved my life? That may soon cost you extra, too. Alternatively, it may cost you more if you want anyone to actually be able to load your radical feminazi blog.

One imagines a basic internet package consisting solely of Wal-Mart presents re-runs of Family Guy sponsored by Target. We're not there yet, but once we decide to let corporations sign agreements on how they'll run the internet, all bets are off.

As Liss said, it's either net neutrality or it isn't. This Google-Verizon deal isn't.