I don't think the worst-case scenario, as described in the video and article, will happen.

The only way it could work would be if ALL internet companies agreed to create this 'brave new world' - and there are at least two problems with that.

1) Current US anti-trust laws already outlaw this kind of conspiracy. America isn't the whole world, but if companies can't do it here, it will severely limit their power to do it elsewhere.

2) There's a big financial reward for internet companies that don't agree to the new model - they will gain HUGE numbers of customers as users run away from the other companies.

This is not to say that things won't get worse. Already, most major ISPs are using bandwidth restrictions to reduce traffic to high-volume sites like BitTorrent. That trend is likely to continue and expand.

Also, I just read yesterday that Comcast is testing a new pricing model with one price for monthly downloading - up to 40 gigabytes. Users who download more than that will be charged $1 per gigabyte. They're testing it in two small markets. I predict this model will be highly unpopular and that Comcast won't implement it nationally. If they do, users will run away in droves.

If you think about it, the most common broadband model now uses a kind of across-the-board bandwidth throttle: the more you pay, the faster service you get. I don't think anyone thinks this is unfair. Why would it be unfair in future for an ISP to offer super-fast downloads from a partner or partners, say a movie downloading service like Netflix or music service like Napster? Maybe you could download from their partner sites at something like 10 Mbps and all other sites at 5 Mbps. As long as the company was upfront about it, and didn't otherwise discriminate against other traffic, I wouldn't have a problem with that kind of model. I might even choose an ISP that was partnered with a site I use a lot.

In general, I'm in favor of Net Neutrality, but there can be problems. For example, what about spam and hacking? If companies are required by law to give all traffic exactly the same priority, how are they going to be able to restrict access to these types of abuses? Still, in general, net neutrality is the way to go. And a lot of powerful companies, including Google and Microsoft are lobbying hard to get net neutrality laws passed.

I'm optimistic that things will be basically OK.

If you're really concerned and want to do something about it, go to http://savetheinternet.com. You can read the latest, sign petitions and so forth.