Net neutrality, the effort to keep open and equal access to Internet Web sites, has faced a rocky road to legislative approval. Such legislation is opposed by carriers who want to maintain the right to manage and control the availability and pricing of bandwidth, while proponents see net neutrality as a free speech issue that entitles citizens to unfettered access to online content. As Enterprise Networking Planet reports, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps and other net neutrality supporters, are rethinking their strategy in light of recent court decisions.
Michael Copps, the most outspoken advocate for net neutrality on the Federal Communications Commission, knows he’s in for an uphill battle.
“I think there are powerful players that are opposed to it, that are in a position to make their influence felt,” the commissioner said in an interview with Bill Moyers set to air tonight. “None of these things are going to come easy. None of this stuff gets solved without taking on a fight. Government doesn’t work that way.”
Efforts at the FCC to hold broadband service providers accountable for their network-management policies were dealt a major setback earlier this month at the hands of a federal appeals court. In that ruling, a panel of judges unanimously struck down the FCC’s legal theory supporting Internet regulation, leaving the commission at a crossroads as it embarks on the ambitious agenda laid out in its national broadband plan.
