Net neutrality discussion

"

tidbit wrote:

Does the packet still contain something like "this is a packet to/from secretsite.com, it's video" and only the video (or image, text, etc) data itself gets scrambled, but not some header data?

if something isn't telling that the packet is part of a video, wouldn't that bypass their ability to detect videos and thus requiring a different package (if the ISP goes that route)

When a packet of information is transmitted from one network device to another one directly connected to it, that's one hop. Usually, transferring information over the internet requires many hops, the first few of which are between devices controlled by your ISP, then onto the proper Internet, then to the recipient's ISP, then finally to the recipient.

If the device at the next hop is cool with it, practically everything can be encrypted. The ultimate destination of the packet can be included in the packet itself, and therefore can be encrypted. The type of data can be encrypted. Even the return address can be included in the packet and encrypted.

But if the device at the next hop is not cool with it — and most aren't — you're going to need the address of either the final destination or a cool device, and either the valid return address or the address of a cool device. (Using a fake return address is technically possible but usually easily seen as the ruse that it is, and the packet discarded rather than forwarded.) All of the other data can still be encrypted, and there is no need to identify the type of data (ex: "this is video").

Generally, the only reliable information an ISP has is what addresses are on the packets and when they're hopping. I imagine they could assemble the packets to look at the data itself, but if it's encrypted they could only decrypt it if they were able to capture the key(s) from an earlier transmission, which might or might not have been routed through the same devices (or routed at all). Even then, the processing power needed to decrypt everyone's data would be a significant cost deterrent. It would be impractical to do this to all customers, but I imagine an ISP might try it with targeted customers.

Still, for the userbase in general, the addresses alone tell much of the story. An ISP can safely assume most traffic to a particular final destination is of a particular nature, and they can draw similar conclusions about "cool" devices that reroute traffic to conceal original senders and recipients. A network device controlled by an ISP can be programmed to discriminate against packets based on address in pretty much any conceivable manner: discarding them, delaying forwarding, or routing them stupid so it takes more hops than it should (this last can be from incompetence or from malice).