:00:00. > :00:38.On July 12th, the internet, as we know it, will change.
:00:39. > :00:40.Go to Amazon, Twitter, Reddit or many other sites
:00:41. > :00:43.and you could be asked to wait on a slower connection,
:00:44. > :00:46.or pay extra, or you may be blocked altogether.
:00:47. > :00:47.Thankfully, these warnings aren't real.
:00:48. > :00:50.They're part of an internet-wide protest, with the aim
:00:51. > :00:56.Net neutrality is the basic principle that protects our freedom
:00:57. > :01:01.It's the guiding rules that have made the internet
:01:02. > :01:06.into what it is today, and it prevents our internet
:01:07. > :01:09.service providers - so the cable companies like Comcast,
:01:10. > :01:14.from controlling what we can see and do when we go online.
:01:15. > :01:17.Under the net neutrality principle, all data should be
:01:18. > :01:23.That means they can't slow down companies who refuse to pay
:01:24. > :01:27.to have their data prioritised, and they can't charge customers
:01:28. > :01:47.But the US Federal Communications Commission, the FCC,
:01:48. > :01:49.voted recently to overturn rules from 2015 which enshrined these
:01:50. > :01:51.neutrality principles, and which meant telecoms firms
:01:52. > :01:59.And that, says the organiser of the July 12th protest,
:02:00. > :02:02.will play right into the big cable companies' hands.
:02:03. > :02:05.If we lose net neutrality, you're going to start to see
:02:06. > :02:07.the internet look more like cable TV.
:02:08. > :02:11.You can imagine trying to go to a social media site and getting
:02:12. > :02:14.a notification from your internet service provider saying -
:02:15. > :02:18.oh, sorry, if you want to access this site, you need to upgrade
:02:19. > :02:23.You need to upgrade to our streaming video package.
:02:24. > :02:29.You need to pay us more, in order to access the same sites
:02:30. > :02:31.that you've been using day after day for years.
:02:32. > :02:35.They can also go to those sites and charge them extra fees in order
:02:36. > :02:40.And, of course, those fees get passed on to all of us.
:02:41. > :02:43.So it's really an issue that affects every single person
:02:44. > :02:45.that uses the internet, regardless of your political views.
:02:46. > :02:51.And this won't just affect US internet users.
:02:52. > :02:54.If you use an American web service - which, let's face it,
:02:55. > :02:59.is most of us - it may affect the service that they provide to us.
:03:00. > :03:02.The FCC says that the 2015 rules are unnecessary and may
:03:03. > :03:06.have stifled investment in next-generation networks.
:03:07. > :03:11.Well, this fight could have been resolved ten years ago
:03:12. > :03:16.if it were really just about net neutrality.
:03:17. > :03:19.This has really primarily been a fight about the FCC's power
:03:20. > :03:25.We had our first major update to our communications law 20 years ago,
:03:26. > :03:29.and that law made it unclear exactly how the FCC was going to regulate
:03:30. > :03:35.the internet, and that ambiguity has left the agency to wrestle with this
:03:36. > :03:46.And in a nutshell, there were simpler, better ways
:03:47. > :03:52.There were other agencies that could have addressed net neutrality
:03:53. > :03:54.concerns when they arose, starting back in 2008.
:03:55. > :03:58.And, er, Congress has three times tried to legislate,
:03:59. > :04:03.and both Republicans and Democrats, I think, share the blame for missing
:04:04. > :04:07.the opportunity to craft a solution that would resolve this issue.
:04:08. > :04:10.And that, unfortunately, has led us to where we are today,
:04:11. > :04:15.which is a thorough rule-making at the FCC to deal with this
:04:16. > :04:18.issue of legal authority, when the rules themselves -
:04:19. > :04:24.the core of net neutrality - have really never been controversial.
:04:25. > :04:27.Well, I wonder what the original inventor of the concept of net
:04:28. > :04:28.neutrality would make of these changes.
:04:29. > :04:32.You know, it's...very disappointing, let's put it that way.
:04:33. > :04:36.So, you know, the Obama administration had finally put net
:04:37. > :04:39.neutrality into law, done a good job with it, everyone
:04:40. > :04:41.was happy, but out of nowhere, the Trump Administration...
:04:42. > :04:44.And it's not been any public movement against net neutrality,
:04:45. > :04:48.it's really the cable and phone companies wanna make more money,
:04:49. > :04:53.And they have somehow kind of, under the cover of Trump's madness,
:04:54. > :04:57.managed to start the process on net neutrality.
:04:58. > :05:01.The thing is making the government realise that there are severe
:05:02. > :05:04.electoral consequences for messing with net neutrality.
:05:05. > :05:08.It has to be understood as the third rail, that you mess with this
:05:09. > :05:11.and you're going to get people very angry and descending
:05:12. > :05:28.Whatever happens I have the feeling it will not be the last word we hear
:05:29. > :05:36.on net neutrality. Just hunch. Volvo announced they'll only make
:05:37. > :05:43.electric and hybrid cars from 2019. Formula One racing team Williams
:05:44. > :05:46.unveiled a carbon-fibre baby carrier that can transport critically ill
:05:47. > :05:48.newborn infants by The Babypod protects
:05:49. > :05:51.against vibrations and can be kept They are to introduce a robot cop
:05:52. > :05:59.and autonomous patrol cars. The vehicles will use 360-degree
:06:00. > :06:00.surveillance technology to identify suspicious objects,
:06:01. > :06:03.launch a mini drone, Google's in the doghouse again -
:06:04. > :06:08.this time, for a deal with a UK hospital that didn't respect
:06:09. > :06:13.the privacy of patients. The UK's Information Commissioner
:06:14. > :06:16.ruled that 1.6 million patients' details were provided
:06:17. > :06:18.to Google's DeepMind illegally, to help develop an app
:06:19. > :06:21.to diagnose kidney failure. And could tickets be replaced
:06:22. > :06:26.by inaudible sounds? TicketMaster has teamed up
:06:27. > :06:30.with Listener, a company that uses ultrasonic sound technology
:06:31. > :06:32.to transmit information Checking into a venue with an app
:06:33. > :06:39.would give off the sound, and organisers could lock
:06:40. > :06:43.who was in and where they are - Whether you love or loathe a trip
:06:44. > :07:05.to the shops, retail is changing, but there's more to it than people
:07:06. > :07:08.just shopping online instead. Can I just see what colours
:07:09. > :07:15.there are downloaded? Here's an idea that takes shopping
:07:16. > :07:17.online a step further. One company's software allows
:07:18. > :07:20.you to go a shop's website and, from there, you can connect
:07:21. > :07:23.to a shop assistant in store, who'll Yeah, what do we have
:07:24. > :07:32.there on the right? Can you please take the cream bag
:07:33. > :07:38.off the shelf, and can you open it The shop has actually found
:07:39. > :07:42.that the same experience being streamed to a mobile has
:07:43. > :07:44.actually proved more popular And although I found the experience
:07:45. > :07:50.pretty good, it does of course I thought it was going
:07:51. > :07:55.round your waist. If, when shopping online,
:07:56. > :08:01.you're worried about getting your size right,
:08:02. > :08:03.then these smart They aim to be able to measure
:08:04. > :08:07.you and tell you the exact right size of jeans that
:08:08. > :08:10.you should be buying. LikeAGlove hopes to measure women
:08:11. > :08:16.for the right size and style The stretchy measuring leggings
:08:17. > :08:23.connect via Bluetooth to a smartphone app,
:08:24. > :08:25.where your stats will be stored, so you can keep track
:08:26. > :08:28.of your body shape. Oh, my waist measurement here seems
:08:29. > :08:31.to be about five inches larger than I thought it was and a fair bit
:08:32. > :08:35.bigger than the jean When I clicked through
:08:36. > :08:37.to the suggestions, The company say these measurements
:08:38. > :08:42.represent where the jeans would sit, rather than actual measurements
:08:43. > :08:45.you would expect. Might upset a few people
:08:46. > :08:49.along the way, though! But another trend emerging
:08:50. > :08:52.is that we head back to the High Street, but shop
:08:53. > :09:01.assistants as we know them don't. These online stores are open 24
:09:02. > :09:05.hours a day, with only a series of cameras and microphones keeping
:09:06. > :09:07.an eye on you. You gain access to your smartphone,
:09:08. > :09:11.use it to scan your purchases Their first branch opened in Sweden
:09:12. > :09:16.last year, followed by another The launch of Amazon Go's first
:09:17. > :09:22.store in Seattle appears to have been delayed,
:09:23. > :09:25.but aims to replace queues and checkouts by using computer
:09:26. > :09:27.vision, deep learning It will see what you've picked up
:09:28. > :09:34.in store and, in turn, But one US company has another
:09:35. > :09:42.idea about self-service. Well, on first view,
:09:43. > :09:45.this does just look like an ordinary vending machine that happens
:09:46. > :09:48.to have a TV screen on it, but a machine like this
:09:49. > :09:51.could soon be selling alcohol, The device uses biometric
:09:52. > :10:02.sensors to identify users by the veins in their fingers,
:10:03. > :10:06.meaning you can turn a standard machine into an apparently secure
:10:07. > :10:10.one, only dispensing goods to the person with the
:10:11. > :10:14.right to collect them. And, yes, in the US,
:10:15. > :10:21.that item could be a gun. The company claims the machinery
:10:22. > :10:24.uses the same level of security employed by US military and large
:10:25. > :10:28.corporations to access If it's connected to the internet,
:10:29. > :10:34.they say 'Where there's Where there's internet
:10:35. > :10:37.connectivity, somebody can We've jumped through every possible
:10:38. > :10:44.hoop we can do to make sure that only the person standing in front
:10:45. > :10:47.of it is able to get Right, and there are guns
:10:48. > :10:54.and alcohol available too? So some fellas are going out hunting
:10:55. > :10:57.and they leave late from work, and they rush out of the kitchen
:10:58. > :11:01.to catch up with their friends. Usually, you're far outside the city
:11:02. > :11:04.limits, you've made a whole plan, you've made your trip,
:11:05. > :11:07.you get out and you say, In this situation, a secure machine
:11:08. > :11:12.would allow you to pick up some ammo, or even a replacement gun,
:11:13. > :11:15.if you're in the system. Maybe get their whiskey off the one
:11:16. > :11:18.side, get their ammo off the other, and head on into the camp
:11:19. > :11:22.and have a fine week of hunting. OK, maybe this isn't solving
:11:23. > :11:25.a problem that many people have. And suddenly, the idea
:11:26. > :11:39.of shops without assistants That's it for the short version of
:11:40. > :11:44.click. You can find us on Twitter and for the longer version on
:11:45. > :12:02.iPlayer. Thank you for watching.