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FCC Takes Hit In Latest Legislation Over Net Neutrality
By John Vinson
Expert Author
Article Date: 2011-03-04
For those who have been keeping up with the battle between the FCC, and ISPs over net neutrality, heard some drastic news recently. The House of Representatives, in a vote, have decided to withhold money from the FCC to implement their net neutrality rules. There are a lot more hoops to jump through before it becomes actual law, but this is a key first step.
The rules were established last year, and consisted of two principles. First, ISPs would not be allowed to provide extra bandwidth to certain sites over others. Secondly, the companies wouldn't be allowed to charge for access to certain forms of data.
Though the battle has been going back and froth, the ISPs have obtained a victory by lobbying Congress to block spending to the FCC. An amendment, titled - H.AMDT.80 was allowed to be added to the federal budget for 2011. It states that the FCC will be cut off funds for any attempts to regulate the ISPs.
Though the bill has made it through the House, it still needs to be approved by both the senate, and President Obama.
The ISPs have been arguing for awhile over the rights they should have in terms of how they provide internet to customers. They believe they have the right to slow down or even block data which interferes with more important traffic. There have also been whispers of going backwards and charging access based on daily usage (AOL used this tactic in the dial-up days).
The sponsor of the amendment, Rep. Greg Walden, stated the reason behind the amendment, "We all want an open and thriving Internet. That Internet exists today. Consumers can access anything they want with the click of a mouse thanks to our historical hands-off approach."
One dichotomy which separates the net neutrality supporters and detractors is how they view the standing of ISPs. The supporters believe ISPs to be along the same status as utility companies; phone companies for example, which have to follow the guidelines set forth by the FCC. The detractors of the bill believe ISPs have already enjoyed the establishment of the free market and is why they've been able to thrive.
There looks to be no end between this debate, and depending on how many supporters the amendment can receive in the senate will decide whether or not it has any chance of succeeding. Even then it needs to be signed by President Obama before becoming active. All we can do now is play the waiting game.
About the Author:
John is a staff writer for WebProNews.
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