WebProNews

Economy benefits from that principle

A bipartisan bill to make net neutrality a core tenet of US broadband policy received an introduction to the House of Representatives today.

Google likes the cut of Ed Markey's and Chip Pickering's jib. The legislation they brought to the House today provides for freedom for lawful Internet use "without unreasonable interference from or discrimination by network operators."

Their bill also directs the Federal Communications Commission to "assess competition, consumer protection, and consumer choice issues" regarding broadband services.

FCC chairman Kevin Martin may not welcome the extra assistance from the Markey bill. CNN Money said Martin believe the four principles of net neutrality the FCC already has will allow them to stop abusive network operator behavior.

Whether or not that claim will withstand the issue of Comcast filtering peer to peer traffic will demonstrate whether the FCC's principles back the lawful interests of paying customers who use technologies like BitTorrent, or the interests of Comcast and other big broadband ISPs.

"Net neutrality and broadband policy are - and should be - about what's ultimately best for people," Google policy analyst Derek Slater said on the company's Public Policy blog.