Bill Would Reinforce Principle of Net Neutrality
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Telecoms line up against proposed legislation that would force them to treat all internet traffic equally.
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A 165-page report issued yesterday by the US Federal Trade Commission examines the arguments surrounding the issue of whether to enforce "net neutrality" provisions - which would essentially mean equal access among consumers to all Internet content regardless of provider or service class - before coming to almost zero conclusions regarding a possible course of action.
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Agency seeks public comment as first step in deciding how far Internet service providers can go before they transcend "reasonable network management" and run afoul of federal policy.
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Legislation to temporarily ban taxing Internet access is poised for approval this week after the US Senate approved the legislation and worked out wording acceptable to Congress.
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Internet law professor Michael Geist looks at how net access delivered by cable is starting to change.
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Senator Barack Obama will be asked to answer a question about supporting Net Neutrality in an MTV interview on Monday.
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A House Republican is pushing a measure that echoes a long-sought Bush administration goal: to require all Internet service providers to keep records on their subscribers.
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Federal regulators approved new rules Thursday aimed at making high-speed Internet available to more Americans &#151; but critics complained the move will hinder competition in broadband services and keep prices high.
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Congress is poised to extend a ban on taxing Internet access, a move that would please Internet service providers but possibly cost states millions of dollars in lost revenue.
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Alternative form of high-speed Internet access makes its way to U.S. homes.
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Those who illegally download movies and music could have their Internet service cut off under a forthcoming recommendation that could be used to craft legislation.
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The U.S. Senate has passed legislation that would extend a moratorium on Internet access taxes for seven years, giving supporters hope that an extension will be signed into law before the current moratorium expires Nov. 1.The Senate late Thursday passed the seven-year extension on a voice vote. The moratorium would extend the ban on Internet-only taxes, such as access and &quot;bit&quot; taxes on information as it travels through a taxing jurisdiction. The Senate passed an amended version of a House of Representatives bill, the awkwardly named Internet Tax Freedom Act Amendments Act.The House passed a four-year Internet tax moratorium&#160;earlier this month. The two chambers will have to reconcile the two versions of the moratorium before sending the legislation to U.S. President George Bush to be signed.The Senate&#39;s seven-year extension represented a compromise between a group of senators, many of whom opposed an extension in the past, who wanted a four-year ban, and a second group that wanted a permanent ban.Senators calling for a four-year ban, including Thomas Carper, a Delaware Democrat, and Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, argued that a permanent extension would hurt state and local governments&#39; long-term ability to raise money. Other critics of the ban have raised concerns that a permanent ban would give telecom providers the opportunity to press for tax-exempt status on services such as VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol).&quot;This agreement is a common sense victory both for Internet users and for state and local governments,&quot; Carper and Alexander said in a joint statement. &quot;It continues the moratorium on Internet taxation, avoids unfunded federal mandates on states and cities ... and allows Congress to revisit the issue after seven years.&quot;Supporters of a long-term ban say it encourages broadband adoption, and, by extension, helps drive the U.S. economy.Senator John Sununu, a New Hampshire Republican who pushed for a permanent moratorium, also praised the Senate&#39;s action. The amendment crafted by Sununu and Carper, in addition to extending the ban, made some changes to the House bill that were intended to protect e-mail messages and instant messaging from usage taxes, Sununu said.Some critics, including Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, had raised concerns that a Senate moratorium bill would open up e-mail and instant messaging to taxes.&quot;This bill -- a drastic improvement over what came out of the House -- makes a clear statement that taxes on Internet access are wrong for consumers and wrong for the economy,&quot; Sununu said in a statement. &quot;The Senate has made real progress in the name of Internet tax freedom, passing improved legislation that offers more certainty for this national and global communication network.&quot;Wyden, a long-time tax moratorium supporter, also applauded the Senate vote.The changes approved by the Senate will protect instant messaging and e-mail, including voice and video messaging services, Wyden said in a statement.&quot;These services have sparked revolutions in our ability to communicate, bringing distant grandparents closer to their grandchildren and giving our soldiers in the field a more direct link to home,&quot; he added.
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Federal regulators approved new rules Thursday aimed at making high-speed Internet available to more Americans. Critics contended the action will hinder competition in broadband services and keep prices high.
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After weeks of negotiations, the  U.S. Senate could take action this week on a bill that would  make it easier to sue "peer-to-peer" networks like Kazaa and  LimeWire that allow users to copy music and movies over the  Internet.
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Rep. Edward Markey's latest proposal aims to "enshrine" antidiscrimination principles in federal communications law but does not prescribe outright rules or penalties this time around.
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'Power to the people. And us.' Just after Comcast copped to throttling P2P traffic, a new net neutrality bill appeared on Capitol Hill.â¦
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The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)Â should resist calls to impose net neutrality regulations on broadband providers because such rules could hurt the Internet, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)Â said Thursday.