According to recent report by the Associated Press, a divided Federal Communications Commission recently approved new rules meant to prohibit broadband companies from interfering with Internet traffic flowing to their customers.
The 3-2 vote last week marks a major victory for FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who has spent more than a year trying to craft a compromise.
The FCC's three Democrats voted to pass the rules, while the two Republicans opposed them, arguing that they amount to unnecessary regulation. The new rules are likely to face intense scrutiny on Capitol Hill once Republicans take over the House. Meanwhile, public interest groups decried the regulations as too weak, particularly for wireless systems.
Known as “net neutrality,” the rules prohibit phone and cable companies from favoring or discriminating against Internet content and services, such as those from rivals.
Led by Genachowski, the Democrats on the panel voted last week to approve the first enforceable Net neutrality rules, which will prohibit Internet service providers such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from blocking access to lawful content and websites.
Adopting the Net neutrality order is a much-needed win for Genachowski, who has been trying to find a compromise on the divisive issue for the past two years.
“Given the importance of an open Internet to our economic future … it is essential that the FCC fulfill its historic role as a cop on the beat to ensure the vitality of our communications networks and to empower and protect consumers of those networks,” Genachowski said at the meeting.
