Porn > Free Speech

Some of you have heard about the new Google-Verizon deal. I must admit that I don’t really understand the deal. Advocates of net neutrality argue that the deal will harm free speech and innovation. Apparently, the deal will permit companies like Google and Verizon to grant preferential treatment to certain websites (at least on wireless networks). Thus, Google will get to decide whether that unofficial Jonas Brothers website that you want to visit just to see what the kids are into these days (and not because you think that if you really squint, the lead singer kind of looks like that stripper that was super into you in Las Vegas last year) loads as fast as other websites or loads at all. The fear is that Google, an entity that exists to maximize profits, will make this decision based on the amount of money that websites pay Google. If you want a more complete discussion of the evils of the deal check out this article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-aaron/google-verizon-pact-it-ge_b_676194.html?ref=fb&src=sp

You can insert your own example of how this deal might harm free speech and innovation. More selfish and prurient reasons motivate my apprehension. Will the deal mean that I have to wait twenty minutes for naughtyruthyginsbergXXX.com (I hope that this is not an actual website) to load because that website could not afford to pay for Google’s top speed? Will Google decide that secretantoninscaliasextape.net is too offensive for anyone to view (let’s hope that it does)?

The internet has revolutionized the way that we consume pornography. There was a time when you had to make eye contact with real people before you could watch videos of two or more individuals having sex. Who can forget the embarrassment of exiting the Adults Only section of his video rental establishment at 10 AM on a Sunday morning with an armful of smut only to discover a line of families staring back with disgust? Was I the only one who got to the front of the line only to have the cashier yell across the crowded store “Billy, do we have another copy of ‘Oil Soaked Cheerleaders’ in the back”? Those were dark days, friends.

Today we can enjoy pornography in the warm safety of online anonymity. If I get the sudden urge to check out whether middle-aged Pakistani flight attendants need a spanking, the only eyes I have to look into our my own. Call me an ideologue if you must, but I don’t want to give that up. The Google and Verizon deal may provide some benefits. However, until those companies can assure us of porn neutrality, it won't be a happy ending for me.