Reuters reports that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is reviewing Comcast’s questionable practice of blocking some Internet traffic and whether it is ‘reasonable’. Good.
But, as I have said before, ‘Net Neutrality’ needs to be enshrined in honest-to-goodness law, not just protected by the transient decree of an unelected (and largely unaccountable) commission. The Internet and companies that have spawned from it (Amazon, Google, etc.) have relied on a network that treats all data in a random, equitable fashion. Every bit and byte of information—whether it’s a news web site, iTunes music file, BitTorrent transfer, or software download—is treated the same.
Internet providers like Comcast have a responsibility to provide their customers with ‘virgin’, unfettered network access. Many Republicans claim that Net Neutrality legislation would go against their free-market inclinations, but—on the contrary—it is a neutral net that facilitates the modern, networked free market.
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