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House Subcommittee Rejects Internet Neutrality Rules
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 19:01:44 -0400
Begin forwarded message: From: Stan Hanks <stan () colventures com> Date: April 5, 2006 6:16:22 PM EDT To: dave () farber net Subject: House Subcommittee Rejects Internet Neutrality Rules House Subcommittee Rejects Internet Neutrality Rules (Update1) 2006-04-05 17:02 (New York) (Adds companies' comments starting in fourth paragraph. By Molly Peterson April 5 (Bloomberg) -- A U.S. House panel rejected a proposal that would have protected companies including Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc. from fees that Internet service providers may charge for delivering their content. The proposal by Massachusetts Democrat Edward Markey would have toughened ``network neutrality'' rules in a bipartisan bill that makes it easier for telephone companies to offer Internet- based video service in competition with cable TV. Markey's amendment, rejected in a 23-8 vote today by a House subcommittee in Washington, would have barred companies including AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and Comcast Corp. from charging Internet companies for faster delivery of their content. It also would have prohibited them from favoring some companies over others that offer the same type of content or services. ``Without critical changes, the legislation puts at risk consumer choice, American innovation and global competitiveness,'' six companies including Google and Microsoft said today in a letter to House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton, a Texas Republican. Neutrality is emerging as a contentious issue as lawmakers update the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Phone and cable companies have spent billions building fiber-optic networks and may seek to recoup some of those investments by passing costs on to content providers. Companies such as Google, the most-used search engine, attract advertising with video and other content. The letter to Barton was signed by chief executive officers of Google, Microsoft, Amazon.com Inc., EBay Inc., IAC/InterActiveCorp, and Yahoo! Inc. Chief Sponsor Barton is chief sponsor of the draft bill, which would help AT&T and Verizon introduce television services faster. It includes provisions to let the U.S. Federal Communications Commission enforce a neutrality policy statement it adopted in August. The House panel plans to vote later today on the bill. The FCC'S 2005 policy statement says consumers are entitled to access legal Internet content, applications and services of their choice. It also says there should be competition among companies to sell access, applications, services and content. The subcommittee voted today to add language requiring the FCC to rule within 90 days on any alleged violation of net neutrality principles. It also would let the FCC levy fines of as much as $500,000 per violation. Markey and several other Democrats said the bill's neutrality provisions are vague and unenforceable. The FCC principles ``do not encompass nondiscrimination protections the Internet has always had and desperately needs in order to ensure its continued vibrancy,'' Markey said. `Explicit Authority' Barton said his bill gives the FCC ``explicit authority to enforce whatever net neutrality is'' on a case-by-case basis. ``We increased the fines so they can penalize bad behavior very forcefully,'' he said. Shares of San Antonio-based AT&T fell 3 cents to $27.09 at 4:02 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Shares of New York-based Verizon fell 16 cents to $34.44. Philadelphia- based Comcast shares rose 55 cents to $27.04 in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. Mountain View, California-based Google rose $3.65 to $407.99 and Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft rose 10 cents to $27.74. --Editor: Golum ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as lists-ip () insecure org To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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- House Subcommittee Rejects Internet Neutrality Rules David Farber (Apr 05)