The government is being encouraged to prepare to block websites and Internet traffic in the event of a worsening 
swine flu pandemic that results in network congestion, a move that represents a potential end run around the agenda to regulate the world wide web.
A report by the General Accountability Office warns that a severe pandemic, or a worsening of the H1N1 outbreak, could result in 40 percent absentee rates at work and school, meaning that the Internet would be overloaded with people working from home as well as bored children sucking up bandwidth via online gaming.
Securities exchanges already have back-up systems to cope with such a scenario but the same cannot be said for general commerce, warns the report, adding that the federal government, specifically Homeland Security, should be given the power to block certain websites and regulate Internet traffic.