net neutrality

Google, the Silicon Valley startup that quickly dominated the global search engine business, gained credibility early on with users by invoking its informal motto: “Don’t be evil.” But consumer groups last week turned the slogan against the company, saying the economics of the digital world have obscured its moral compass. Earlier last week, Google united with Verizon to bring before the Federal Communications Commission a list of proposals that consumer groups said seemed to water down the principle of network neutrality — the concept that all Internet traffic should be handled equally, regardless of who provides it or how much they can pay.