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September 5, 2008 8:52:30 PM CDT

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FCC Ready to Defend Net Neutrality

Posted Feb 26, 08 12:30 PM CST in Business 

(Newser) – FCC boss Kevin Martin told a hearing yesterday that the government was "ready, willing, and able to step in" to stop Internet service providers from restricting traffic sent by rivals, the Wall Street Journal reports. Comcast is accused of acting improperly by slowing or blocking access to file-sharing sites. The cable giant says it is merely managing its network.

The FCC has shied away from getting involved in regulating ISPs, but the agency is now considering ways of enforcing its "net neutrality" principles to ensure that everybody gets equal access and that competition stays fair. "Comcast not only owns a horse in this race, but they also own the only racetrack in town," said the chief of an online video firm.

Sources Wall Street Journal, Associated Press

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Gilles Bian Rose, CEO of Vuze, Inc., looks over the top of his laptop computer as he executes a technology demonstration for commissioners during a Federal Communication Commission hearing in the Ames...   (Associated Press)
A Harvard University police officer stands on the steps leading to the Ames Courtroom after it was closed because of overcrowding during a Federal Communication Commission hearing at the Harvard University...   (Associated Press)
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Internet  • FCC  • Comcast  • file sharing  • Kevin Martin  • broadband Internet  • net neutrality  • ISP  • Internet access


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