Internet Worries Mount

A growing number of issues may bring down the Net

December 8, 2009
By Holly Deyo

News is building about the Internet experiencing major problems. It's becoming too large, running out of I.P. addresses and bogging down.

Today, numerous people have written saying they can't access certain websites including PayPal, Wired News and Asia Times, among others, thinking it was a linkage problem. Not so.Control issues are also surfacing. Though America's Defense Dept. funded and developed the Internet in the late 60's, the EU plans to take over the information behemoth. This may be, in part, why Google intends to run its own Internet. However, Google is attracting notoriety for Internet spying, tracking Net searches, keeping personal data and now, tracking users who have logged out. Plus, Google will limit your free access to online news. Be sure to read between the lines in Google's own posted privacy info. Google CEO Eric Schmidt defends this privacy invasion saying "If you have something you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it."Yahoo, too, is in hot water over Internet spying.

To make matters worse, it is only a matter of time till Net shopping is taxed. Debated for at least 7 years this issue has always been squashed flat. Now that the global economy is reeling, governments from city to county to the Fed are taxing people nearly out of existence.

Every opportunity for "more money" is scrutinized. It's not surprising that government greed hungrily eyes this untapped revenue stream and wants to claw further into your wallet by taxing online purchases. Moreover, groundwork is being laid for another ugly surprise.

One morning you may wake up and find you have zero online access. The Internet may be so sluggish that access is denied simply because the connection timed out. People still on dialup wouldn't stand a chance. For the past year, even broadband users have complained about Net slowness as more out-of-work users crowd online. This is with 10% unemployment. Think what it would be like should those numbers kick up.Additionally, hackers may realize their dream and take down the grid or paralyze the Net. (see these related stories)

Now factor in the most alarming aspect – the President's ability to take over the Internet. The whole issue is control. This action is supposedly to be granted during a crisis. What constitutes a crisis? It could be real or manufactured, as we have seen in the past. Other countries already practice Internet censorship. Is it such a stretch to think government will want to do so here when they want to regulate radio content under the guise of the unconstitutional "Fairness Doctrine"? The big "duh" overlooked here is that if people wanted more liberal talk radio, they would support it. They don't. Unfailingly, it has died an ugly death over the years it's been tried. Again, it is about government control. As these news items mount, you can bet there's fire behind the smoke.