What next for network neutrality?

Verizon and MetroPCS are pursuing lawsuits against the Federal Communications Commission, claiming the agency doesn't have the legal authority to issue network neutrality/open Internet rules. Meanwhile, on the other side of the question, the group Free Press has also sued the FCC because the rules don't apply to mobile services. The question could remain open for years.

In the meantime, people connecting to the Internet from terrestrial networks are protected from having their online experiences interfered with by Internet service providers, but mobile broadband users -- who are, of course, growing in number -- aren't. The idea behind net neutrality is to prevent ISPs from slowing down or speeding up traffic (or even blocking it) to favor one source or type of data over another. It comes down to this: data flows on the Internet must be regulated. The question is whether to put that control in the hands of government (which would protect the status quo) or in the hands of corporations (which could potentially decide which kinds of content people can easily access.) It increasingly looks like the ultimate decision will be made by the federal courts.