A really technical guy talks net neutrality, and how all the partisan positioning may wind up killing the internet altogether.

Death of the internet, or just a slowing of its growth via lack of innovation - it makes no difference. None of this bodes well for the web hermit.

With all the talk of net neutrality, government snooping, and telco conspiracies, you’d think that web companies would be worried sick. Yet, nobody is running around like a chicken with their head cut off. Techdirt Mike thinks government meddling is going to increase the use of encryption technologies, and I could not agree more. I also believe that is exactly why those slaughtered chicken imitators are so scarce. Internet buffs (and drooling entrepreneurs) know something the bureaucrats can’t ever figure out - like life itself, technology always seems “to find a way.”

Get ready for open, cheap, hardcore stealth communications of the likes you may have never dreamed about (unless you are Kevin Mitnick or Bruce Schneier or Phil Zimmerman). It will be here sooner than you think.

PS: to add to the mess and the potential for distraction: as EmailBattles notes, more data is stolen from governments via burglary than hacking. The government should be worrying more about lock and key, security door, and window bar manufacturers, which in all their intelligence and glory they will probably move to regulate forthwith.

First, Congress debates the issue; now the House approved a bill (no comment on it’s contents). Let’s see how far this goes.

Meanwhile, for those who still don’t understand what “net neutrality” is all about, the BBC has a nice piece which uses auto traffic as a metaphor for explaining the concept. Maybe having a custom SUV or pickup, with oversized off-road tires and a big bumper/grill guard (with an integrated winch) is the answer. Is there an internet equivalent to one of these? At least people will get out of the way, eh?

The recently announced NSA/Telco data sharing fiasco is setting off a wave of lawsuits. Make jokes if you must, in light of the situation (which I don’t personally think is a big deal - I don’t get any phone calls anyway). But I do think - how timely!

The telcos are in the middle of a “net neutrality” fight, and I wish someone would properly communicate the bigger picture - the telco’s certainly can’t.

The time is now - trade a quick sweep of this issue under the carpet in return for perpetually free access across the pipes.

Of course, that is exactly the opposite of what telecomm executives were thinking when they agreed to the data sharing plan in the first place.

***UPDATE***

Of course, BellSouth now joins Qwest in the “we didn’t do it” category. I’ve been pretty hard on telecomms for not getting the innovation thing - unfortunately, having a few players in the mix with plenty of chips remaining makes this whole net-neutrality poker game idea pretty hard to pull off.