Monday, March 2, 2009
The Akamai Presidency? [UPDATED]
So much for the “YouTube Presidency.”
The Obama administration is no longer using Google’s video player to deliver the President’s weekly addresses online. Instead, it will use an Akamai player. No reason has yet been given for the abrupt switch, although some speculate it was inspired by privacy concerns over the video-sharing site.




Ironic, isn’t it, that Google, one of Net neutrality’s staunchest advocates, has been approaching major cable and phone companies with a proposal that appears to violate the very tenets of that principle? How could a company that has argued tirelessly that all Internet traffic should be treated equally, suddenly reverse course and seek preferential treatment for its own traffic?