His phone was buzzing with messages from his friends, planning their after school trip to the new video game internet cafe downtown. It had become the latest hangout spot for the teens, since computer prices had risen drastically with price hikes in minerals from exporters in Africa. Following Netscape’s catastrophic lawsuit with Microsoft over the monopoly of internet usage by providing their services for free, Google had seen an opportunity. A young company at the time, Google’s competitor Microsoft had won the case forcing Netscape out of business after using techniques to harm Netscape’s business model. As Google watched Microsoft bully their way into winning the case by throwing money at it, strategies began. With Netscape now out of the picture, the only real competition left was Microsoft. In 2008, with the economic crash, Google shorted Microsoft stock, making millions of dollars forcing Microsoft back into the shadows. Eventually, with Microsoft’s stocks crashing, they were forced to sell to Google with the small hope that investors would regain pennies to the dollar of what they’d once owned.
Since then, Google had exhibited widespread control over monetizing the internet, developing an exclusive deal with Apple Products and forcing customers to pay monthly rates to access Google’s homepage of the platform, which served as a gateway to the rest of the internet.
All this was standard curriculum in John’s Internet Histories course, a requirement at St. Joseph’s High School where John was a Sophomore.
As John got in the car, his mother came running out of the house juggling her purse, bag, lunch, and other items.
“I’m coming, I’m coming” she shouted as she frantically locked the door behind her.
As they pulled out of the driveway, John bent down to turn on the morning news.
“It’s a beautiful Wednesday morning morning here in Washington, D.C. as lawmakers meet today to discuss sanctions against Google, after an unannounced price raise took effect last week on Google platforms. It’s been over 30 years since the 2008 crisis, and lawmakers are scrambling to finally put some regulations in place to try and improve internet conditions for all Americans. In other news, President Ocasio-Cortez will host with King and Queen Consort William and Kate Wales today at the White House to discuss potential climate change efforts between the two countries. That’s the news this morning, signing off.”
John had really felt the effects of the rising internet costs lately. His weekend job at the Five Guys down the street no longer covered his weekly spending for internet access to do school work. Because John attended public school, internet costs were not subsidized by the school’s budget, and forced kids and parents to pay out of pocket.
“You know Rob’s mom told me recently that there’s funding for internet access available through a non-profit. We just have to submit an application” John’s mom said.
It had been a point of contention for them since Google’s most recent rise in cost, with John’s mom working two jobs to cover the costs of living in the suburbs.
“I’ll just try to pick up a few more shifts this weekend” John sullenly replied back.
The school bells rang just as John’s mom pulled through the circle to drop him off.
“I’m going to run down to the new internet cafe with my friends after school, so I’ll just walk home from there and be home for dinner” John said.
“Ok that’s fine, just make sure you watch the time on those machines, they’re designed to make you pay more!” his mom replied.
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