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Kicking you off the internet

While the dispute between content delivery networks may appear relatively minor to some, it is actually indicative of a broader fight over the free and open Internet. The brewing dispute between cable providers and Netflix, along with many bandwidth intensive services, is leading to a “Balkanization” of the Internet, according to Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

Corporations like Apple, Facebook and Comcast could force greater separation between the open Internet and so-called “walled gardens” where private networks operate based upon their own set of rules and away from the prying eyes of search engines.

But that’s just the beginning: governments, Brin said, are looking to put down popular uprisings driven by widespread Internet access, and they’re becoming increasingly successful at “put[ting] the genie back in the bottle.” Much like China, Iran and, increasingly, the U.S., other countries are also looking at harsh domestic Internet regulations, and even radical “solutions” like national networks that only connect to certain websites or services.

“I am more worried than I have been in the past,” Brin said. “It’s scary.”