Just last week, on March 22nd, 2011, Google announced its decision to grant Georgia Tech $1 Million in funding to establish a method of monitoring Internet transparency. Google's decision comes as a bit of a relief following their recent and questionable partnership with Verizon when they, together, combated an FCC proposal regarding Net Neutrality.
Georgia Tech stated in a press release their intention to "create a 'transparency ecosystem,' where more and more users will take advantage of the measurement tools, which in turn will improve the accuracy and comprehensiveness of our analysis." Effectively, Georgia Tech hopes to offer a set of tools for download which will test and report Internet traffic to their network, creating an active network of monitors.
Following their agreement with Verizon, many supporters of Google began questioning the search giant's motives, suspecting they may have cast their lot in the battle for Internet control. Google, however, insisted their decision was purely a correction of an unfair FCC proposal, suggesting that the FCC's plan would prohibit their ability to prioritize more demanding modes of communication over another, such as video over voice. Perhaps Google is, in fact, in favor of a free and open Internet despite their competitors motives, but it is also quite possible that this decision to assign Georgia Tech as Internet watchdogs is merely a stunt to regain favor.
