FCC pushes forward on 'net neutrality'

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By Tom LoBianco

The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously today to block Internet providers from charging online giants such as Google and Amazon.com extra for the large amount of infrastructure they use in delivering their services.

The issue, popularly known as "net neutrality," is not just a fight among powerful corporate interests, but has exploded into a heated, populist debate over who will control the future of the Web and what the government's role is in regulating the Internet.

Backers of the idea say government intervention is needed to prevent telecommunications and cable companies from abusing their power over the networks that deliver broadband services to homes and businesses.

Despite the concerns of the two Republicans on the five-member board, the FCC voted to begin writing regulations to ensure net neutrality, saying they are concerned about keeping the Internet open and accessible and hope to issue a final set of rules early next year.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, appointed by President Obama, said he was concerned about reports of some Internet providers slowing or blocking access to certain online companies.

"The heart of the problem is that, taken together, we face the dangerous combination of an uncertain legal framework with ongoing as well as emerging challenges to a free and open Internet," Mr. Genachowski said. "Indeed, it would be a serious failure of responsibility not to consider such rules, for that would be gambling with the most important technological innovation of our time."

But the two Republican members of the commission said they are not sure there is enough evidence to support Mr. Genachowski's concerns.

"I am not convinced that there is a sufficient record to establish that a problem exists that should be addressed by commission rules. As I have said previously, we should not adopt regulations to address anecdotes where there is no fact-based evidence that persuasively demonstrates the presence of a problem," Commissioner Meredith A. Baker said.