US proposes internet neutrality laws

The US Federal Communications Commission has proposed new rules for internet companies to respect “network neutrality”, with the chairman saying that “all web traffic should be treated equally”.

“There are few goals more essential in the communications landscape than preserving and maintaining an open and robust internet,” chairman Julius Genachowski said in a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

“It is vital that the internet continue to be an engine of innovation, economic growth, competition and democratic engagement.”

The two rules he proposed would prevent ISPs from discriminating against web-content and applications that use high amounts of bandwidth, by either slowing or blocking that content. Additionally, another rule would regulate how ISPs reveal how they manage network traffic.

The two proposals, Genachowski said, would work together with four previous proposals which state that consumers must be able to access lawful content and services by attaching non-harmful devices to a network.

“This is not about government regulation of the internet,” he said. “It’s about fair rules of the road for companies that control access to the internet.”