Netflix deal shows peril of Comcast-Time Warner plan

[Commentary] Netflix's agreement to pay Comcast for smoother streaming of movies and TV shows marks the end of an era for the Internet. It should send shivers down the spines of anybody who relies on online information. It also should galvanize the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice to reject the $45 billion merger of Comcast and Time Warner, which would compound the potential for limiting the flow of knowledge.

The deal marks the first time an Internet content provider has agreed to pay for direct access to a broadband provider's customers. It's a direct hit on the concept of an open, free Internet, a principle that helped unleash the Information Age and transformed the world. Netflix and Comcast subscribers may benefit in the short term, since the deal will result in faster downloads and fewer disruptions while watching streamed programming. But Comcast now has established that program providers must pay for premium access to its broadband services, and that changes everything.

President Barack Obama has made improved broadband access a national priority. His administration needs to nix the Comcast merger.