Here is two more important things to watch:

1. The ACTA trade agreement.
http://www.eff.org/issues/acta
http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/acta/

This trade agreement comes up in the senate in 2010. I wouldn't be surprised if it is not held behind closed doors because up to this point, it has been very secretive.

2. Net Neutrality
The FCC is suppose to issues some rules on this subject. I think it will be interesting to see how this develops because it will offer insight into to the future of the internet.

Are we going to have a more controlled internet or are we going to have a open internet?

I think its very likely we will see a more controlled internet in the future. The Obama administration has been backing away from net neutrality, and a sizable number of democrats opposed the concept. The telecommunications industry is not content with being dumb pipes, and it is very powerful. At some point, people will have to pay extra to visit sites like vbforums.