this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2023
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You may be unaware, but that dystopia already exists today: Mobile service providers (= ISPs for their customers) are selling e.g. WhatsApp traffic quotas separately from other internet traffic. You'll buy a package, and you'll get X GB traffic, but Y GB WhatsApp traffic separately, with Y sometimes even being > X.
Meaning in effect that people have to pay more to access the non WhatsApp-Internet, which means "ISP charging people extra to access Netflix" (among other services). It encourages people who have little money to stay in their WhatsApp filter bubble.
In a competitive market, bundling/unbundling is good, not bad. It's a way for consumers to get a better deal. For example, if a tiny minority of users take up a huge chunk of internet traffic through their use of WhatsApp, bundling WhatsApp separately allows the majority of non-power-users to pay less. If you don't like it, just jump to the other providers.
It's under conditions of market power that bundling/unbundling becomes problematic. When your ISP is a monopoly, they can impose bundles on you not because it's a good way to offer consumer choice, but because it's a way to stealthily increase prices.
All data is data. Charge by the byte with a 2% profit (not even sure hot to fogure that), or just leave it as unlimited, as it should be.
Food is food, so why doesn't McDonald's charge you by the Happy Meal, instead of allowing you to buy burgers, fries, and drinks separately?
I think you missed my point, being that the absence of net neutrality by legislation has brought us exactly what those promoting such legislation have warned about.
Well look at that, they all are. Next.