Net Neutrality As An Anitrust Issue

I recently came across this article discussing the FCC's Comcast ruling. The article, which references a journal article written by Cornell professor Alfred Kahn, suggests that the issue of net neutrality should best be dealt with by the antitrust courts.

Comcast Appeals FCC Decision

Following on a previous post, Comcast yesterday appealed the FCC ruling that it violated the Agency's net-neutrality principles. Take a look at the petition for review filed with the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.

FCC's Ruling On Net Neutrality

Following on my post from a little while back, the FCC finally published their Order regarding Comcast's violation of the Agency's net neutrality principles. The Order gives Comcast 30 days to disclose their method for managing internet traffic.

FCC Rules On Net Neutrality

The FCC issued its much anticipated ruling today on net-neutrality, alleging that Comcast interfered with the free nature of the web when it wrongly slowed some of its customers' Internet traffic. Consumer groups had initially sued Comcast but then later asked the FCC for a declaratory ruling on the matter. The FCC's opinion effectively changes the playing field by making the US government a regulator of the internet. The FCC's Memorandum Opinion and Order (FCC 08-183) is not yet available online.

Net Neutrality Suit On Hold

Jon Hart's suit against Comcast has been put on hold. Hart, a Comcast subscriber had sued Comcast alleging that the company is violating FCC net neutrality principles by interfering with certain types of internet traffic. The case has been put on hold until an FCC investigation into the matter has been concluded. The suit, originally filed in California Superior Court, has since been removed to federal court.

New Net Neutrality Bill

Representative John Conyers (D-Mich) recently introduced (May 8th) a new bill (HR 5994) on net neutrality dubbed the ‘‘Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2008." This is the the most recent of a series of bills on this issue. Other notable bills dealing with net neutrality include HR 5353, S 215, HR 5417, and S.2917. For a list of net neutrality bills which have been introduced, see this Wikipedia article.