“A Democratic lawmaker on Wednesday proposed legislation to stop network providers from playing traffic cop on the Internet,” The Associated Press reports.
“Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on telecommunications and the Internet, introduced the bill to promote the principle, known as “‘Net neutrality,’ of treating all Internet traffic equally,” AP reports.
“The Internet Freedom Preservation Act, which is co-sponsored by Rep. Chip Pickering, R-Miss., requires the Federal Communications Commission to assess whether broadband providers are ‘blocking, thwarting or unreasonably interfering’ with consumers’ rights to access, send, receive or offer content, applications and services over networks,” AP reports.
“The FCC would also be required to determine whether providers charge extra for certain services and if it’s lawful,” AP reports. “The bill was drafted in response to reports that some companies, including Comcast Corp., are unfairly stifling communications over the Internet.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Patricia D.” for the heads up.]
We urge careful consideration as legislation often produces unintended consequences.