[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...

[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.]

[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.

[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.

[kpp_kpp]

net neutrality meant that "FreeRepublic" would not have to pay additional fees to allow you to get to their site.

w/o net neutrality any isp or telecom company can block any content they see fit and charge the content provider (i.e. FreeRepublic) additional fees if they want their content on that provider's network.

unless someone explains it differently to me and i "see the light" i have a hard time understanding why freepers are against net neutrality (i.e. status quo, i.e. conservative)

[Sandy]

what is net neutrality?

That's the question that too many people are asking, which is why it's probably a good thing that the legislation didn't pass--because too few people know what the hell it's about. Among those who have knowledge or interest, there is no partisan split, so I don't know why the House vote split on partisan lines.

Tim Wu and Larry Lessig are the best sources of info on the matter, imo.
Info:
No Tolls on The Internet
Network Neutrality, Broadband Discrimination
The Economics of Net Neutrality:Why the Physical Layer of the Internet Should Not Be Regulated
FAQ

[beavus]

If you take the time to read your contract with your cable company or DSL provider, you will see that they retain the right to do pretty much whatever they want--censorship, service restrictions, etc. Some lefty read this and screamed murder, despite the fact that broadband providers have rarely imposed any restrictions.

Then, companies that use the Internet heavily, like Google and Amazon, saw a way to keep (by force of law) the broadband providers from charging them fees for using their bandwidth. Thus "Net Neutrality" was born. A solution without a problem.

The proponents cry free speech, but what they are doing is trying to deny broadband providers their property rights. They are also driving out the profit motive that has put 24/7 broadband service into the homes of common Joes like you and me.

Cable companies have invested billions of dollars to feverishly produce the explosion of high speed Internet access that we have today, and they are looking at alternative business models (besides just end-user subscription fees) for realizing a profit from it.