TOMPAINE.com – Stealing The Internet by Jeff Chester and Rosenfeld. Aug 04 2003. This commentary argues that communications and media companies want to fundamentally change the way the Internet works. They are proposing and lobbying for changes that will allow them to meter Internet use and monitor Internet content. Chester and Rosenfled say this will bring “tiered” service, charges by the byte, low-income users forced to accept stripped down service and advertising, extra charges for users who want “non-mainstream” content, and more.

From Congress to Silicon Valley, the nation’s largest communication and entertainment conglomerates — and software firms that want their business — are seeking to restructure the Internet, to charge people for high-speed uses that are now free and to monitor content in an unprecedented manner. This is not just to see if users are swapping copyrighted CDs or DVDs, but to create digital dossiers for their own marketing purposes.

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