Net neutrality is the principle that all internet data should be treated equally. It has become a policy goal in some countries, but its legal authority in the US is controversial. The principle prohibits internet providers from prioritizing one set of data over another, including format, means of transmission, and content. Proponents argue that it gives everyone an equal chance to have their voices heard, while critics argue that it unfairly burdens large content producers. The FCC ruled against Comcast for targeting a particular type of content, but a subsequent court ruling found that the FCC did not have the power to enforce net neutrality. The regulatory position remains unclear.
Net neutrality is the principle that all forms of internet data should be treated equally in terms of transmission. Many people believe that net neutrality is a key principle of how the Internet works, and government agencies in some countries see it as a policy goal. Attempts to enforce the principle in the United States have created controversy over the legal authority particular agencies have to regulate Internet providers.
The basis of net neutrality is that an Internet provider, such as a cable company, shouldn’t prioritize one set of data over another. This can concern both the format of the data, such as online videos or web pages; means of transmission, such as peer-to-peer file sharing or newsgroups; and the content itself, such as a football news site or an album audio file. In most cases, even the staunchest supporters of net neutrality agree that the principle does not trump legal issues regarding the meaning of the content; for example, it would not be considered a breach of principle to block access to a child pornography site in a country where such material is illegal.
Most definitions of net neutrality refer to content rather than end users. The principle allows a company to limit the total amount of data users receive or how fast they receive it, and to offer different limits and speeds to users who pay different rates. It would be considered a breach of principle to set a limit that applied only to a particular type of content.
Proponents of net neutrality argue that the Internet should be a “dumb pipe” that doesn’t discriminate between different data. They argue that this gives everyone an equal chance to have their voices heard, and that the best content gets the largest audience. Critics of net neutrality argue that the concept means that large Internet content producers such as online video groups do not pay a fair share of the costs to get their content to users.
The legal status of net neutrality in the US has come into question after it was discovered that Comcast deliberately slowed down data sent via peer-to-peer messaging. The Federal Communications Commission ruled that while it was acceptable to slow down all traffic to a particular customer to handle network demand, it was a violation of net neutrality to target a particular type of content in this way. The FCC believed it was government policy to enforce net neutrality in this way.
A subsequent appeal by Comcast resulted in a court ruling that under current law, the FCC did not have the power to enforce that policy. This ruling was not about the principle of net neutrality per se, but rather about the FCC’s regulatory powers over Internet companies. As of 2010, representatives from the FCC, Congress, and the Internet industry were discussing the matter and aimed to clarify the regulatory position.
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