Google’s joint proposal with Verizon this week to prevent high-speed Internet access providers from prioritizing different kinds of traffic is sparking opposition from other large Internet companies, including Facebook, eBay and Amazon.
The Google-Verizon proposal, which would exempt wireless networks from regulation, could undermine efforts to preserve “network neutrality” as a growing share of Internet traffic moves to the mobile Web, opponents argue.
For Jonathan Steigman, net neutrality is not an abstract concept.
Standing in a clump of about 80 protesters at Google’s headquarters Friday, many holding signs saying “Save the Internet” and “Don’t Be Evil,” Steigman held out his cherished Android phone and said, “more and more of my free speech is coming through my smartphone.” The Mountain View resident said he is a fan not only of Google products such as search, but, until now, its values. “I’ll go to Bing if they start doing this, even though I hate Microsoft.”
Many have taken issue with the idea of having different rules for the wired and wireless Internet.
“Facebook continues to support principles of net neutrality for both landline and wireless networks,” the Palo Alto-based social network said in a prepared statement.
For some, the surprise alliance between two powerful companies who had been on opposite sides of the debate about how to regulate the Internet seems to have crystallized fears that Google and Verizon are trying to shape a public debate to their own profit-driven motives.
Google issued a blog post Thursday to debunk the “myth” that “Google has ‘sold out’ on network neutrality” and that it was joining forces with Verizon because its Android operating system runs many Verizon smartphones. But Friday, as a knot of protesters delivered what they said were petitions with 300,000 signatures opposing the proposal to Google’s Mountain View headquarters, few seemed to believe Google is acting solely on behalf of users.
“Google has built itself on this idea of not being evil,” said James Rucker, a software developer who delivered the petition signatures. “Many others have looked at Google as a company that’s gotten big, but also as a company that has values. And I think the brand of Google is at stake here.”
The Federal Communications Commission’s attempt to enshrine network neutrality regulations has been blocked since a federal court ruling this spring found the FCC lacked broadband authority. Google and Verizon stepped in after negotiations among companies on opposite sides of the debate collapsed.
As the Internet evolves, especially as a carrier for video, critics say broadband network owners such as Verizon and AT&T could give priority to certain types of Web traffic to boost their profits, or even slow the delivery of services from competitors.
Allen Hammond, a Santa Clara University law professor who heads the Broadband Institute of California, said the strong reaction to the Google-Verizon proposal is because broadband networks are now the nation’s “nervous system.”
“Google was really doing the public’s work, to a certain extent, by challenging the big Internet service providers and saying net neutrality was important,” Hammond said. “I think some people may believe that Google has gone over to the other side when they try to argue this distinction between the wire-line and wireless Internet, which is ridiculous.”
Google’s head of public policy, Nicklas Lundblad, said in a statement Friday that Google was not abandoning its defense of an open Internet.
“This is an important, complex issue that should be discussed. But let me be clear: Google remains a fierce supporter of the open Internet. We’re not expecting everyone to agree with every aspect of our proposal, but we think that locking in key enforceable protections for consumers is preferable to no protection,” he said.
But Craig Settles, an Internet analyst, said a Thursday blog post from Richard Whitt, Google’s telecom and media counsel in Washington, rankled many people, including fans of Google.
“You have turned traitor, and you have now insulted our intelligence,” Settles said of the reaction of many, including himself, to the Google post. “To tell us that this isn’t about Android? When you’re telling us it’s OK to regulate the wired-line Internet, but Google is saying wireless is special. Like, hello? That is truly insulting.”
