Internet Will End By 2012
By DCMerkle
@DCMerkle (1281)
United States
June 20, 2008 10:02pm CST
Honestly? When I first saw this I thought it was a joke, but it's not. After doing some research on my local and national government political sites, I have found that there is a Bill that is being decided on.
What the bill basically entails is the big ISP servers are asking that they be allowed to package the internet as a bundle just like the cable companies do now. We will be asked as consumers to choose the packages of websites that we would like to frequent. What this does is raise the price of our internet service fee.
Don't we pay enough already? Wasn't the internet a place to provide easy and all encompassing access to the information super highway? We will be blocked from some sites because we may have been forced choose a package that may fit in our budgets. They are being stretched to the limit as it is now.
For many this may mean turning off the internet because they will not be able to afford it. Many will lose the only thing that they have enjoyed or for those that have businesses they too will lose their income.
There is a petition that is being passed around. I'm sure that if you do a Google search you can find it. Google themselves are against this and have drafted a letter to D.C. explaining why they feel that net neutrality should stay as it is. Google that as well.
If you find the petition, e-mail it to others. Having the internet become a bigger profit to one set of businesses and cutting out the consumer in this is too important to let slip out of our hands.
DCMerkle
6 people like this
37 responses
@dodoguy (1292)
• Australia
21 Jun 08
Hi DCMerkle,
If what you describe here comes to pass, then the Internet will possibly be partitioned into two or more reduced versions of what we now enjoy - one version within the jurisdiction of the USA, with all the restrictions and regulations that the US government chooses to enforce in favor of big business (what else?), and whatever remains outside of the USA's jurisdiction.
I'd expect that if big business went for the jugular in the USA, then it's likely to also try the same thing in the European Union.
So we might have three loosely couple versions of the Internet, with the terms of use of each tailored according to the respective controlling paradigms within each.
It shouldn't need to be stated that the loss of Internet freedom within the USA would have a major impact on the viability of Internet businesses worldwide, because so much of the enterprise and creativity on the Internet has been driven from within the USA.
So it would be a big setback not only for American business, but for the entire world of Internet commerce and community interaction.
1 person likes this
@craz4coy (23)
•
21 Jun 08
I agree. This is just another way for the government to stick their hands in our pockets. I am an unemployed student and mother of 2. Gas prices and utilities are making it hard for me to complete my education. If the government passes this bill, I won't be able to finish school and I'm doing it for my kids.
@mommyboo (13174)
• United States
22 Jun 08
Ha ha ha! You know, I always get an insane urge to laugh, in real life and cyber as well as figuratively whenever I see somebody post or say that 'here is the date of the end'. I have yet to meet a real person who can see the future, so everything I have ever heard is a hoax and a lie. I'm sure I will live to be 115 or something equally old without any such disaster befalling me such as..... the bottom of our supplies of oil (there will still be fossil fuels around and available when I die), the greenhouse effect (the environment will still be chugging along just fine when I die), the second coming of Christ (I do not foresee this happening before I die) etc etc. If I'm 115, it will be much much later than 2012. =)
@djmarion (4898)
• Philippines
21 Jun 08
this would mean bigger $$$ profits for ISP companies and a nightmare to all of us. i'm sure many will object as internet has been here and has made our life much convenient, internet has become the bridge to millions of people around the world so if they remove it people will be divided again by mountains, ocean and trees.
i hope people who are behind this bill think twice and think hard before they approve the nightmare that will end most of our internet income.
1 person likes this
@mommyboo (13174)
• United States
22 Jun 08
I don't necessarily think this will affect everybody. When Napster went belly up due to the lawsuits and the issues brought about by Metallica, many other things popped up to take their place. There will always be a way to get free, unrestricted internet access, even if it isn't as convenient as signing a contract with your local internet company. =) This is why I am taking the view I do. Sure I'm angry at stupid people, but I know that stupid people won't prevent me from getting what I want. They never do.
@Matthammer (385)
•
21 Jun 08
Companies can control what their clients view to a certain extent already, but to suggest that there is some overall control of the Internet and that a company, government or other conglomerate can suddenly try to take ownership of it and dictate how it be used is garbage.
1 person likes this
@momalisa65 (1971)
• United States
21 Jun 08
Geez! We won't be able to drive anywhere because gas prices will probably be $20 per gallon by 2012, and we won't be able to have any fun online at home either!
I better start to like some kind of free hobby by then. 
1 person likes this
@baileycows (3665)
• United States
21 Jun 08
I think this is just crazy. I work for an ISP. There has been no talk of this but I am sure that they are not going be very happy. Not to mention we service very rural areas and most of these people can barely afford the internet as it is.
1 person likes this
@scapula (760)
• Jordan
22 Jun 08
That is bad news, I can't live without internet, I don't know what will happen later, everything is going up, Prices meet the skies and they ask us to pay more, what would we do? , I think they don't understand that we need the internet aggressively, it is part of our life and we can't just simply get red of it. Anyway I hope this is not true.
@olgms_cute15 (64)
• Philippines
21 Jun 08
i think it will not pursue... because it will affect almost every business that makes the goverment earn... guys lets not waste our time lets disagree to this bill... if all of us will be united it will not push through...
@DCMerkle (1281)
• United States
21 Jun 08
I would hope that we could all be united in this. The thing to do is to find out which of your senators and congressmen are against this. Then send them a letter asking to support of killing this Bill.
Check out your local government sites. There's usually a link that will take you to the listing of Bills that are being heard right now while the session is in.
Check out the National government sites for D.C. to find out who is against it there.
Pass this information around to others and let them know how it would affect them as well.
DCMerkle
@ariel_2254 (59)
• United States
1 Jul 08
I hadn't heard anything about this issue and I am pretty much up on the latest news...I most definitley will look into it and if I find the petition I will certainly pass it on...Thanks for the info...
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
22 Jun 08
I can't believe that this is going on. I hope that it does not get passed as so many people online do make money from the internet or are have friends that they can only contact through the internet. If I see this bill I will definitely send it along to everyone I know and hopefully it will be stopped. Have a Great day.
@mommyboo (13174)
• United States
22 Jun 08
This is absolutely crazy. I believe without a doubt that the ISP servers will be turned DOWN because hello, we already pay for internet access! I am NOT going to pay for a 'package', I already PAY for a package. Those fruits can bite me. I will continue to access whatever sites I feel like accessing under the bundle of INTERNET ACCESS which is all inclusive. It's not like cable tv where there is a finite number of channels. There is no finite number of websites, and it would be impossible to try and catalog them all!
I can't imagine that ANY consumer would be for this. If you are, I hope you lose your internet! Let that teach you!
@ChristLikeFarmer (563)
• Philippines
21 Jun 08
Really? Well that sure is a dumb bill! Perhaps the main agenda is to collect more money out of it.
@doomstay982 (239)
• United States
21 Jun 08
rpegen
to tell the truth Americans don't know the laws since no one is telling what the laws are. Most of us are becoming nothing but puppets.
@dianagnes (1088)
• Singapore
21 Jun 08
I hope this wont happen..In about three years time,they will have this new system.Im totally against it and so does the daily internets users.Hmm,its occur world wide? That's more worst! Let's regards it as a fake and unapprove decision.They may plan and wish its an unsuccessful mistaken action.
@mflower2053 (3223)
• United States
21 Jun 08
figures they would do something to charge people more money. Lets give the people some spending money and then figure out a way to take it back. Jerks. I will find the petition and sign it and email it to everyone I know and put the link on my websites. Its not just americans for the ones who was saying who care its only america if you go to the website its canada first then america.
@twallace (2675)
• United States
21 Jun 08
This is interesting, now they will charge for what you search and how you search. I would say that this is a way to eliminate the things that they might not want on the net but then again they sound like they just want their cut of the earnings that the internet makes. They are going to far.
Have a good one.
Have a good one. @sparkster (181)
•
21 Jun 08
This is ridiculous, it's clearly something that will not happen. There are ISP's out there that will 'pay you' for using their service and technically it wouldn't be difficult for consumers to set up their own internet, seeing as though all it is, is a load of computers connected to each other.
@vigneshshekar90 (25)
• India
21 Jun 08
I dont hope so...
Internet is wide network and it cant be vanished so easily,as that 2012 is very near.
everyone'll say that world comes to end by some yrs etc.,like all rumors,it also might the same upto my knowledge..
@nareshreddy68 (628)
• India
21 Jun 08
it is sad that bill is going to harm us now only we are much paying high than a electricity, phone bills then if we choose a site means how?It will become more cstlier
