Warp wrote:
>   The European Union is being lobbied into passing the so-called "Telecoms
> Package" directives, which essentially would give all European ISPs full
> powers to choose what they offer their clients from the internet (in other
> words, to offer their clients only what they pay for, and completely block
> and hide everything else).
> 
>   Never mind the questions about basic human rights, what really baffles
> my mind is that these directives are being promoted as *increasing* the
> amount of choices people will have.

Sure, it gives you lots of new choices:

- Package 1 only allows you to access item A.
- Package 2 only allows you to access item B.
- Package 3 only allows you to access item C.
- Package 4 only allows you to access items A and B.
- Package 5 allows you to access items A, B and D, but not C.
...

Of course, these are stupid, stupid choices, but hey, it'll allow ISPs 
to charge you way more money for exactly the same thing, which can only 
be good, right? (For the ISPs, that is.)

>   I can't even begin to comprehend the Orwellian madness behind this logic.

It's quite simple. This allows ISPs to make more money. ISPs like this. 
Where's the problem?

> Something which causes effect X is promoted as causing the exact opposite
> of X. Limiting people's choice about what they can retrieve from the internet
> is promoted as *increasing* people's choice about what they can retrieve
> from the internet.
> 
>   And it's not like this would be the first thing ever that has been
> promoted with its exact opposite.

Oh, right, that.

This is basic politics. Do something for reason A (which is 
reprehensible), and then claim you're doing it for reason B (which 
sounds good).



Personally, I can see two ways for this to play out. If some ISPs 
continue to offer access to everything for a reasonable price while 
other ISPs try to stop you accessing things without paying extra fees, 
the unlimited ISPs will suddenly become rather popular, and the other 
ISPs will be forced to either close or start behaving sensibly again.

Alternatively, if *all* the ISPs go down the route of limited access... 
well limited access is better than no access. It's not like people are 
going to cancel their subscriptions in protest. (Especially since ISPs 
will likely keep very quiet about this fact until after the event, once 
you have no choice but to accept their demands.) In that case, we're all 
stuffed.

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