I previously pointed out that the ISPs like Verizon were dreaming if they thought they would charge Google for using their network - that if anybody paid anyone else, they would pay Google. Via Slashdot it seems I was right: see what ESPN is up to.

The underlying article on ESPN points to the "dirty" secret that the anti-net neutrality regulation crowd refuses to acknowledge. They mindlessly assert over and over that the free market through some sort of abstract magically action will somehow keep the net neutral. Unfortunately this is simplistic logic and ignores the very fundamental validation that companies are actively pursuing strategies to destroy net neutrality.

The meltdown of our financial system is "proof" that companies do not feel constrained by normal logic for self-preservation and will pursue self-aggrandizing strategies even if it means destroying the basis for their very existence. After all the executives get paid whether the company survives or not. We seem to be so afraid of the so-called unintended consequences of government regulation that we ignore the immense destructive power of the unintended consequences of unfettered capitalistic greed.

Ben Scott is quoted as saying ""Ultimately, if you carry it to its logical extreme that's everyone charging for their content, and depending upon where you are and which ISP you're using to connect to the internet, your internet experience is different that's a really unsettling prospect," says Scott. "I think it undermines the foundational principles that make the internet such an engine of innovation and creativity.""