Technology | net neutrality We Might Need Google Neutrality, Too Net Neutrality isn't a cure-all; the internet is full of choke points By Kevin Spak Posted Oct 29, 2009 12:04 PM CDT Copied A worker at Google Inc.'s new campus in Kirkland, Wash. walks past a company sign built entirely out of Lego bricks and featuring the Space Needle, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) Net neutrality is back in the headlines, but it might not be as important as its champions might hope. Essentially, the net neutrality fight is over price discrimination—the ISPs want to charge extra fees to big companies that could afford to pay them, explains Ars Technica. Companies of all sorts practice price discrimination, and it works out well—unless the public finds out and gets offended. ISPs in this case have offended the public’s sense of fairness. But ISPs are only the most obvious Internet choke point. Once net neutrality becomes law, a dominant search company like Google could become a chokepoint instead, notes a new paper from the Review of Network Economics. If Google decides to price discriminate, the public would be in essentially the same boat. Net neutrality is fine, but be prepared for search neutrality, too. Read These Next CBS News boss pulls 60 Minutes segment critical of Trump policy. Slate examines the 'spiritual rot' of today's Vegas. Trump's cries against iffy mortgages may lead back to him. Trump makes a new move on Greenland, and Denmark isn't happy. Report an error