U.S. lawmakers introduce new Net neutrality bill [View All]

Source: Computer World

Broadband providers that block or slow Internet traffic would be subject to antitrust enforcement

May 8, 2008 (IDG News Service) WASHINGTON -- Two Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced a bill that would subject broadband providers to antitrust violations if they block or slow Internet traffic.

Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has sponsored the Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act along with Rep. Zoe Lofgren from the Silicon Valley area of California.

The legislation requires Internet service providers to interconnect with the facilities of other network providers on a reasonable and nondiscriminatory basis. It also requires them to operate their networks in a reasonable and nondiscriminatory manner so that all content, applications and services are treated the same and have an equal opportunity to reach consumers.

Any ISPs that do not follow these Net neutrality rules would be subject to antitrust enforcement.

The legislation, introduced today, earned praise from some consumer and online rights groups. Large broadband and mobile phone service providers have begun to discriminate against some content, with Comcast Corp. saying it has slowed some customer access to the BitTorrent peer-to-peer protocol during times of network congestion. Other broadband providers have talked about managing their networks or asking some popular Web sites to pay more for fast service, according to Net neutrality advocates.



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