Google Inc. has held talks with US communications provider Verizon, discussing the possibility of giving people, who pay more, additional access to web content.
Critics believe that if Google Inc. puts the idea into force, it will violate a general Internet rule known as "net neutrality," which is the founding idea of the World Wide Web and simply means everyone has equal access to online data.
Google says it has been trying to reach an agreement with Verizon on what net neutrality means, arguing that discrimination is permissible under certain circumstances.
"People get confused. What we mean is that if you have one data type, like video, you don't discriminate against one person's video in favor of another," CNET News quoted Google chief Eric Schmidt as saying.
"It's OK to discriminate across different types," Schmidt added.
Nevertheless, many have harshly criticized Google over its talks with Verizon, the details of which are unclear.
"The deal between Verizon and Google about how to manage Internet traffic is deeply regrettable and should be considered meaningless," said Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge, a digital rights campaign group.
"The fate of the Internet is too large a matter to be decided by negotiations involving two companies," he added.
The news of the Google-Verizon deal comes at a time when concerns are raised in the US over regulating Internet access.
Presstv
Critics believe that if Google Inc. puts the idea into force, it will violate a general Internet rule known as "net neutrality," which is the founding idea of the World Wide Web and simply means everyone has equal access to online data.
Google says it has been trying to reach an agreement with Verizon on what net neutrality means, arguing that discrimination is permissible under certain circumstances.
"People get confused. What we mean is that if you have one data type, like video, you don't discriminate against one person's video in favor of another," CNET News quoted Google chief Eric Schmidt as saying.
"It's OK to discriminate across different types," Schmidt added.
Nevertheless, many have harshly criticized Google over its talks with Verizon, the details of which are unclear.
"The deal between Verizon and Google about how to manage Internet traffic is deeply regrettable and should be considered meaningless," said Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge, a digital rights campaign group.
"The fate of the Internet is too large a matter to be decided by negotiations involving two companies," he added.
The news of the Google-Verizon deal comes at a time when concerns are raised in the US over regulating Internet access.
Presstv
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