Search engine giant Google Inc. says it's "concerned" about efforts by Rogers Communications Inc. to insert branded corporate messages into third-party websites, a move critics say is a case of a Internet service provider overstepping its boundaries.

Toronto-based Rogers confirmed yesterday that it has spent the past few weeks testing a new technology that allows it to post Web-based notices to its Internet subscribers when they are approaching their monthly data limits.

The messages carry Rogers' name and logo and appear in the body of Web pages in place of original content, not as a pop-up window. One such notice, posted online, showed the Rogers content occupying the top third of Google's normally sparse search page.

The search giant was not impressed with the makeover.

"We are concerned about these reports," Google said in an emailed statement to the Toronto Star.

"As a general principle, we believe that maintaining the Internet as a neutral platform means that carriers shouldn't be able to interfere with Web content without users' permission," the Google statement said. "We are in the process of contacting the relevant parties to bring this to a quick resolution."

Some bloggers noted the Rogers notice on Google's search page seemed more like free advertising than a customer-service bulletin, since it suggested the user "upgrade to another level of service which provides higher usage limits and speeds by visiting rogers.com."

Critics say Rogers' move, though perhaps well-intentioned, could set a dangerous precedent that says it's okay for the companies that pipe the Internet into people's homes and offices to exercise control over their subscribers' activity online.

"It's a very slippery slope," said Philippa Lawson, the executive director of the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic.

Lawson said a more appropriate way for Rogers to communicate with its customer base is through email, a service that Rogers also provides its Internet subscribers.

But Taanta Gupta, a Rogers spokesperson, said the company does not have email addresses for all of its subscribers. She compared the effort to messages sent to people's cellphones when they are about to exceed their monthly airtime allowances.

"We've done customer research on the technology and the feedback was good. So now we're trialling it."

Rogers' experiment is being touted by some as more evidence of the need for legislation that enshrines the so-called principle of "Net neutrality," which basically says that all Web content is created equal.

Net neutrality proponents say they are concerned some companies want more control over access to the Internet's infrastructure to reap more money from their investments – particularly as consumers flock to bandwidth-hogging Internet applications such as file sharing and video.

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That could lead to extra charges on content creators and Web-based business such as Google, eBay and Amazon.com in order to secure premium access to subscribers – a move some say will stifle innovation on the Web since only deep-pocketed companies will be able to afford the necessary access.

It's not the first time Rogers has been accused of messing with Internet traffic. Some users have complained that Rogers and rival Bell Canada use special software to sniff out file-sharing data on its network and move it into the equivalent of an Internet slow lane.