FCC Wrong on Citing Comcast on Net Neutrality , Says US Appeals Court
04.08.2010

The issue of net neutrality may still not be dinner-table conversation for average, Internet-savvy Americans, but it appears the Federal Communications Commission also has a thing or two to learn about technology and the law.

On Tuesday, April 6, a U.S. appeals court ruled that the FCC was incorrect in citing the Internet service provider Comcast Corp. for slowing Internet traffic to specific, heavy file-sharing sites. Comcast apparently prevented some users from utilizing specific peer-to-peer sharing sites, such as BitTorrent. 

For those not familiar, net neutrality is the practice of delivering equal Internet access to all forms of Web traffic. Basically, Internet service providers must give all customers equal access to their stock information, weather updates, sports scores, or any other destination on the Web.

Comcast refused to provide full access to sites that used much more bandwidth and power than normal text-based sites. The corporation originally complied with the FCC's sanction and citation but challenged the decision, leading to the US appeals court.

FCC spokeswoman Jen Howard said of the matter, "The court in no way disagreed with the importance of preserving a free and open Internet, nor did it close the door to other methods for achieving this important end."

President Obama remains in support of net neutrality but only time will tell if this section of the net neutrality debate could bring net neutrality to America's dinner table by transforming the Internet we use every day.

For the full report, you can visit The Wall Street Journal

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