House rejects Net neutrality rules

zdnet ^ | 6/8/06 | Declan McCullagh

[mathprof]

The U.S. House of Representatives definitively rejected the concept of Net neutrality on Thursday, dealing a bitter blow to Internet companies like Amazon.com, eBay and Google that had engaged in a last-minute lobbying campaign to support it.

By a 269-152 vote that fell largely along party lines, the House Republican leadership mustered enough votes to reject a Democrat-backed amendment that would have enshrined stiff Net neutrality regulations into federal law and prevented broadband providers from treating some Internet sites differently from others.

Of the 421 House members who participated in the vote that took place around 6:30 p.m. PT, the vast majority of Net neutrality supporters were Democrats. Republicans represented most of the opposition.

The vote on the amendment came after nearly a full day of debate on the topic, which prominent Democrats predicted would come to represent a turning point in the history of the Internet. [snip]

At issue is a lengthy measure called the Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement (COPE) Act, which a House committee approved in April. Its Republican backers, along with broadband providers such as Verizon and AT&T, say it has sufficient Net neutrality protections for consumers, and more extensive rules would discourage investment in wiring American homes with higher-speed connections.[snip]

Defenders of the COPE Act, largely Republicans, dismissed worries about Net neutrality as fear mongering.

"I want a vibrant Internet just like they do," said Rep. Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican. "Our disagreement is about how to achieve that. They say let the government dictate it...I urge my colleagues to reject government regulation of the Internet."

[mathprof]

Wasn't the "turning point in the history of the Internet"  the moment when AlGore invented the internet?

Also, FYI, Moveon.org is a big supporter of "net neutrality".

[scrabblehack]

OK, what is net neutrality?

[mathprof]

Heavy government regulation of the internet. "Net neutrality" could have turned out to be like the "Fairness Doctrine" that used to regulate talk radio...

[TaxRelief]

Why would Amazon support it?

[ThinkPlease]

Also, FYI, Moveon.org is a big supporter of "net neutrality".

So are folks like the Christian Coalition, and Gun Owners of America. What's your point? It's definitely not a partisan issue.

[ShadowAce]

[ShadowAce]

Also, FYI, Moveon.org is a big supporter of "net neutrality".

So what? We should support it also.

[TomGuy]

While the debate over Net neutrality started over whether broadband providers could block certain Web sites, it has moved on to whether they should be permitted to create a "fast lane" that could be reserved for video or other specialized content.

Prohibiting that is "not a road we want to go down, but that's what the Markey amendment would do," said Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican. "The next thing is going to be having a secretary of Internet Access (in the federal government)."

Sounds like it was a way to inflict a regulatory function on the Internet. [Recall that years ago, Hillary Clinton was calling for a gatekeeper, and McCain has recently sponsored some legislation to impose regulations on politicial web sites.]

[AmericaUnite]

"Net neutrality" could have turned out to be like the "Fairness Doctrine" that used to regulate talk radio...

That's what I heard as well. I'm glad the government stays out.

[Tribune7]

I think the GOP got it right.

[steve-b]

what is net neutrality?

Net neutrality says that your local telco can't (for example) sell you a 1.5Mbps line and throttle it back to 128kbps when you visit the site you want to visit instead of the site the telco wants you to visit.

The GOP is sinking into "crony capitalism" corruption, just as they did on the bankruptcy bill.

[goldstategop]

"Net Neutrality" is liberal code for the so-called "fairness doctrine." In reality, it would make the existence of groups like Free Republic impossible since of course we are not "balanced." Liberals want to make sure conservatives can't express an opinion unless a liberal is around to counter it.

(Denny Crane: "Every one should carry a gun strapped to their waist. We need more - not less guns.")

[JamesP81]

That's what I heard as well. I'm glad the government stays out.

I haven't read about Net Neutrality much, but I have to agree here. Government regulation should be the very last resort, if nothing else works.

[Halfmanhalfamazing]

http://www.osnews.com/comment.php?news_id=14856

[cbkaty]

It's simple...keep the gubment out of the net.....period. This would be a first step to many more intrusions...the camels nose under the tent!!!!!

[meyer]

OK, what is net neutrality?

The best I can say is that Net Neutrality is a fancy, friendly name for another government overregulation scheme. IOW, it's a solution for a non-existent problem.

[Bogey78O]

Actually it's nothing like that. It has to do with MPLS and QoS and nothing to do with throughput.

[Drango]

"Net neutrality" is a great name and I want to support it just like supporting "fairness", mom and apple pie. But in looking at what it does, I'm with the GOP on this one.

[Hostage]

I agree with you on the BK bill but not this.

First, cable companies and telco dsl are going to be history as wireless EVDO and then WIMAX networks take hold.

The population will transition from wired to wireless.

So the fight will be over who will control the air, not the wire.

And in a wireless world, we should always have a choice to change carriers and port our IP and email addresses, and our voice numbers if a carrier interferes with our choices.

Here's the next big thing:
http://www.treocentral.com/

In the meantime it is best that the government stay the hell out of putting their nose into our internet affairs.

[antiRepublicrat]

OK, what is net neutrality? ... Heavy government regulation of the internet.

It is the government telling the telcos to leave the Internet content-neutral as it is now. IOW, don't mess with the recipe that made the Internet great.

To over-use a metaphor, imagine the information superhighway. The telcos currently have a toll booth to get on, and a toll booth to get off. Now they want to put another toll booth in the middle and charge more depending on what kind of car you drive on the road.