At the most basic level, the discussion about net neutrality, copyright on the Internet, the constant cries of the music/film industry how they're losing money because of piracy - all of these issues are about control. It's simple: whoever owns some goods that can easily be replicated on the Internet wants to exert the biggest possible level of control over how this is done.
Some good news are in for those who are trying to fight these dangers. The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) came down hard on Comcast for violating net neutrality regulations. It's a step forward in a very important battle, one that'll ensure that the way we use the net isn't controlled behind the scenes, with big capital pulling the strings as they see fit.
Another, even more important issue is our privacy on the Internet. With laws that let the government snoop on everyone's emails being passed in countries like Sweden, the situation is truly getting dire. However, there's an easy solution, proposed a while ago by one of the biggest advocates of the free software movement, Eben Moglen. If as little as 30% of us take action and start encrypting our Internet traffic, he claims, it will become too expensive and cumbersome for any organization - no matter how big, no matter how resourceful - to snoop on it.
Now, an organization that has significant influence in the way people share files on the Internet, The Pirate Bay, has decided to take action. They're working on an encryption technology that will as they say, "encrypt the entire Internet;" It's not really necessary - once we reach a critical mass, our privacy will, for all practical purposes, be safe.