The idea of a (relatively) free Internet and one in which all traffic is treated the same has come into question.

In the nation's capital, the Federal Communications Commission is considering how to deal with these concepts, collectively called the "end-to-end principle."

Critics of the end-to-end principle take another road, notably many of the Internet vendors - those who make a profit from looking at user traffic and perhaps gaining income from knowing about the contents inside the "envelope." Using the postal service analogy again, they say even the postal service adds an additional fee for heavier envelopes, ones that contain more information.

The Internet vendors claim: Why should certain kinds of traffic which take up much of the capacity of the Internet not be charged according to what they use of the Internet's capacity? Someone has to pay for providing Internet services. Sending and receiving Internet traffic does not come about by magic. It is an expensive undertaking to provide these services. They make the claim: "All we are asking is a reasonable return on investment."

The counter-claim proponents hold that the abandonment of the end-to-end principle will spell the end to the most significant social, technical and economic invention of the past few decades: the egalitarian Internet. They say it will lead to the increased commercialization of the Internet, one in which the advertisers will gain control of what will appear on the screens of users' computers, tablets and mobile phones. Sound familiar?

In addition, by gaining access to the contents inside the Internet envelope, the supporters of the end-to-end principle state the dangers lie beyond mere commercialization. Unless other measures are taken to safeguard the Internet "text," the Internet will no longer be a private way to communicate. To cite a few examples: pranksters, the sensational press and stalkers - not to mention government spy agencies - will be able to examine all traffic sent on the Internet.

This opening of the Internet envelope sits atop an iceberg. Resting below the surface of the iceberg lie the issues of privacy, security, quality of service and intrusive advertising, all of which are increasingly being provided or denied to Internet users. With the Internet destined to largely replace postal mail, these issues will have profound consequences for the world's private correspondence and public commerce. The future of the Internet in America rests on how the FCC, likely Congress, and inevitably the courts will determine the prospects for the Internet.

Other countries are involved in similar debates. What might be the outcome of these deliberations? If the United States government imposes different rules on, for example, the end-to-end principle than the European Union (EU), how will the Internet adjust its vast inventories of hardware and software - which reflect massive cultural behavior patterns - to accommodate different philosophies? How will the Internet vendors and others with a stake in this issue adjust?

The findings and rulings of nations' governmental bodies will affect how we live our Internet-based lives. Their judgments will affect our future privacy and security. What they decree will affect the ownership of the very information we have about ourselves.

What they decide will go to the heart of the matter: Who will control the Internet and the contents of the Internet envelopes?

The decisions of these bodies of power will affect how the future Internet will be used. The decisions will affect the human race. They will also affect those tiny organisms which provide a home to one-quarter of all marine life.

Uyless Black is an award-winning author who has written many books on computer software and advanced communication technologies. He was a software programmer for the Federal Reserve and a consulting business owner in California and Virginia. He resides in Coeur d'Alene.