Back of the computer bus
EFF has been watching AOL/Time Warner's new email shakedown service, "Goodmail', like a hawk. For those who don't know, the service allows mass mailers (ie; spammers) to bypass mail filters--for a fee. There are two problems with this is, of course: First, that people who don't or can't afford to pay blood money to Time Warner won't be able to reach their mailing list. Second, they're clearly confused...we don't want any spam at all. There ought to be no goodmail, and if it was, it should be user configurable.
Going back to the first reason for a minute. If you think about the dual trends of pay-as-you-go spam filters and the current Net Neutrality debate, a disquieting future reveals itself...a two-tiered Internet. Net Neutrality is the codeword for changing some customers more than other customers, because they're more popular. Now they only charge more for OUTGOING traffic, if the telcos have their way and Congress lets them, then they will start charging more for INCOMING traffic.
Both of these plans and I'm sure many others like it are opportunistic. These companies have been characterizing their problems as a result of their early investment in the Internet, but that's bull. The early infrastructure providers for the Net were subsidized by the National Science Foundation. These companies are trying to use their seriously heavy lobbying power to blow apart the free market that is at the heart of Internet E Commerce.
In the next few years, you'll see more of these ideas. Sure, they'll all have consumer-friendly names, but that's the way they do things today. "Goodmail", "Patriot Act", "Defense Department." They're all oxymorons and the names are contradictory, too.
Watch for benignly named ideas that seem to incense Netizens. If they coincidentally are favorable for large companies, watch them closer. Bonus points if the company has executives under indictment.
Posted on May 10, 2006
