The issue of “net-neutrality” is a live one in the US and an issue for the internet everywhere. The basic question is whether all data travelling over the internet should be treated as equal, or whether ISPs should be able to charge providers to guarantee priority for particular data. So, if you are a large company you would be able to have your products treated as privileged data, whereas your small, upstart competitor might find his data arrives slowly or is even blocked. There are reports around around the world of particular internet telephone products, for example, being blocked by certain providers.
Historically, net-neutrality has been the result of both regulation and the technical challenges of interpreting and distinguishing different types of data in real-time. Faster processors mean that the technical hurdles are much less, and lobbying efforts by telecoms companies searching for new revenue streams may alter the legislative framework.
While it is an important issue, it is also one that is difficult to discuss without complex-sounding and excluding terminology. Hats off, then, to this effort to make the issue more accessible by writing a catchy song about it all. The tune is someone musak-esque, but given the lyrics that they are trying to make exciting, I don’t blame the approach.
Hey, Mr Telecom man
God Save the Internet
Don’t Change My Reality
Keep Net-Neutrality!
Um. Well. Some of the other lyrics are better.
On the subject of music with a political agenda, I note that the Dixie Chicks have released a song about their experiences after making remarks about the Gulf War in a concert given in Britain in 2003. “Not Ready to Make Nice“, which is on their latest album, is a good song in its own right and - in a move that will only polarise opinion about the group in America - utterly unrepentant.