A Major Milestone in the Fight for Internet Rights

[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission published its order lowering the hammer on Comcast for derailing Internet users' Web access and then pretending that the cable giant was doing nothing wrong. The order, approved by a bipartisan FCC majority at the beginning of the month, demands that Comcast "must stop" its ongoing practice of blocking Internet content by year's end. The action carries considerable weight. It's the first time the FCC has gone to such lengths to assert users' right to an open Internet. And it sends a warning shot across the bow of other major ISPs that are flirting with the idea of blocking, filtering or degrading content, or favoring certain Web sites and services over others. Comcast has 30 days to "disclose the details" of its "unreasonable" network practices, as well as its plan for replacing them by year's end with network-management practices acceptable to the FCC. If Comcast does not comply with that disclose order or fails to end the network practices at issue, the FCC will be temporarily enjoined from those practices, and permanently so if it could not justify why it should not be, and the issue would be put before an administrative law judge. Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press, "This order marks a major milestone in Internet policy. For years, the FCC declared that it would take action against any Internet service provider caught violating the online rights guaranteed by the agency. Today, the commission has delivered on that promise." Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge: "With today's Order, the FCC acted to protect the rights of Internet users and set the precedent that unreasonable, discriminatory behavior like Comcast's will not be tolerated. It agreed with public interest advocates and technical experts that Comcast's conduct violated FCC principles and was not reasonable network management."