The latest ruling by the US Court of Appeals against the FCC and in favor of Comcast is a big hurdle in the pursuit of what is referred to as “net neutrality” on the World Wide Web. Comcast had sought to slow down data transfer to its customers specifically those who were using Bit Torrent, a popular file sharing service. Although many can argue that the FCC is usually on the side of restriction in this case it was trying to keep the internet from being controlled and limited by one corporation. The court ruled that Comcast might use its discretion in restricting access to its customers. The consequences of this ruling are not going to be immediately felt by web users or Comcast customers but it leaves the door open for a potentially more dangerous series of events that could include the limitation of other forms of data at the discretion of big internet providers. Now that most Americans get a big part of their information from the World Wide Web, having one company decide what information is available sounds frightening. Considering that the internet is one of most important tools to bring a level playing field to the access of information in the history of probably humanity (Look at Google’s current scuffle with the Chinese government) this situation feels like we could be going back to the days of Standard Oil and US Steel. Some who argue for smaller government say that the FCC has no bearing on what a company like Comcast can do but in this case the intrusion of government is essential in the preservation of our open access to information. The potential for the slowing down of the flow information has become real through this ruling. Without the proper access to information we as consumers and citizens will surely be at a big disadvantage.
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>http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/technology/07net.html?scp=1&sq=court%20favors%20comcast&st=cse
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