Google answers neutrality claims

An article which alleges that Google is seeking to fast-track its internet traffic has led the company to respond.

The report, in the Wall Street Journal, alleged that the search engine giant was in talks with internet service providers (ISPs) about the possibility of seeing its traffic prioritised.

This would go against the so-called 'net neutrality' concept, where operators treat all data the same, regardless of what it is.

But the company's Washington telecom and media counsel Richard Whitt said that the article was "based on a misunderstanding of the way in which the open internet works" and said that Google was only looking at web caching.

This is a process where content is physically stored closer to users who are demanding it, allowing them to receive it faster.

Mr Whitt argued that far from being a problem for the internet, edge caching was actually helpful.

He said: "These solutions help broadband providers by minimising the need to send traffic outside of their networks and reducing congestion on the internet's backbones."