14 DAY TRIAL // Although Google hasn’t joined the Internet Slowdown campaign by showing an ever-loading wheel on its homepage, it doesn’t mean that it just stood by on this occasion. The company has been sending people a message urging them to take action to support a free and open Internet.
This is a bit of a change for Google who, for years, partnered up with Verizon, saying that most net neutrality rules shouldn’t even apply to cellular networks. The FCC eventually bent to their desire and agreed to let wireless operators discriminate against third-party apps if the companies disclose traffic management practices.
Verizon is the company that put us all in the situation of standing up for net neutrality, pushing messages to the FCC and calling Congress since the company sued FCC and won. The judge told the Federal Communications Commission that it doesn’t have the legal power to enforce net neutrality rules on ISPs.
Regardless, Google has found its way back to supporting the open Internet and has been mailing subscribers of its “Take Action” list urging them to stand up for net neutrality.
“Our values remain the same: the Internet should be competitive and open. That’s how it works today and how it has always worked. It’s a level playing field, where new entrants and established players can reach users on an equal footing. If Internet access providers can block some services and cut special deals that prioritize some companies’ content over others, that would threaten the innovation that makes the Internet awesome,” Google writes.
The company carries on saying that the Internet was designed to empower people. While providers are essential so people can actually go online, from there on out, where they go is everyone’s personal business. Most importantly, however, entrepreneurs, big or small, can build, launch and innovate without having to be constricted by the actions of the ISP.
Google: No fast lanes!
The company goes on to praise the concept of net neutrality, saying that over at Google they believe that consumers should continue to enjoy open on-ramps to the Internet, which means that no ISP should block or degrade Internet traffic. Google also expresses an opposition to creating “fast lanes” that prioritize particular Internet services over others, which is the thing that ISPs want most because it means they get money from both consumers and companies desperate to get their content over to users in a proper manner.
“The rules should apply regardless of whether you’re accessing the Internet using a cable connection, a wireless service, or any other technology,” Google writes.
They add that earlier this year, they joined other Internet companies calling on the FCC to preserve the open Internet.