New FCC rules take slow route on net neutrality

[Commentary] This has been a big week for the Internet - and we're not talking about online shopping. After years of agitation from public interest groups, companies that build Web applications (including Google, Netflix and Skype), and Internet service providers, the Federal Communications Commission has approved rules designed to preserve open traffic flow online.

"Net neutrality" is an effort to ensure that the public has open access to websites and services. The FCC's new guidelines will shape the Web for years, and maybe decades, to come. As such, the FCC took the mildest possible approach to regulation. The order instructs network carriers (such as Comcast) not to block any sites, applications or devices, even if such content is in direct economic competition with the network carrier. But the carriers are allowed to experiment with measures like differential pricing for content providers that have heavy usage, or controls on the traffic of said content providers. There's also an enormous loophole for carriers to tinker with access to mobile Internet services, which are newer, more competitive, and projected for huge growth. No one is happy with the new guidelines.