US Commission Ruling Sets Precedent on Unfettered Web Usage

On August 1, 2008, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruled that Comcast Corp (Comcast) had illegally inhibited users of its high-speed Internet service from using file-sharing software such as BitTorrent, a software commonly used for downloading movies, television shows, music and software. Asserting that users of BitTorrent and other peer-to-peer file sharing software utilize a disproportionate amount of bandwidth, Comcast claimed that this type of use unfairly reduces bandwidth availability for other Internet users. Two US public advocacy groups, Free Press and Public Knowledge, filed formal complaints with the FCC, claiming that Comcast's policy did not treat all users of their network equally, a position known as "net neutrality", and a long-standing sore point between ISPs and their users. The FCC decision, which imposes no monetary penalty, requires Comcast to end its blocking practices before the end of 2008. Comcast says it believes its actions are reasonable and wholly consistent with industry practices, and some analysts predict that Comcast will appeal the FCC decision. In Canada, a private member's bill has been introduced in Parliament to prevent network management practices that favour, degrade or prioritize any content, application or service transmitted over a broadband network based on its source, ownership or destination. (See E-TIPS® "Proposed Net Neutrality Bill Introduced in Canadian Parliament", Vol 6, No 24, June 4, 2008, for a fuller account of Bill C-552.) For a news article on the FCC decision, see: http://tinyurl.com/6bw3b7 For a FCC press release on the Comcast decision, visit: http://tinyurl.com/5u9xfb Summary by: Oren Weichenberg