Content Neutrality

Plenty of reports today that Apple is getting closer to its long stated goal of creating its own original television content. Basically expanding the Apple Music formula into movies and television, to compete with the likes of Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and Amazon.

I really don't like this.

Tech ecosystems are getting more sticky every year. Once all your contacts / photos / music are synced across all your devices in either the Apple or the Google / Samsung ecosystem, it becomes increasingly hard to switch. Do we want that ecosystem stickiness expanding into content?

Let's think about what the next step might be. Is it that hard to imagine HBO launching Game of Thrones a day early exclusively on Apple devices? Netflix launching the new season on Daredevil exclusively on Samsung Smart TVs? A Disney-Apple alliance bringing Marvel movies early on Apple devices? Warner Bros responding by bringing DC movies early to Android devices? HBO offering John Oliver's political commentary exclusively to Apple people? Fox News airing exclusively on Google Play?

I don't want to overreact on the slipperiness of this particular slope, and I'm well aware that people would never accept things going quite that far quite so quickly. But it feels like we just had this entire argument a few years ago when we were talking about net neutrality. Yet here we are again in a very similar situation and I'm surprised that so few people seem concerned.

Tech ecosystems are sticky. Content viewing habits are sticky. Politics are getting ever more polarized. Let's please not mix the three and make things worse.

Just my two cents.

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