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US: Congress spars over letting FTC, FCC decide net neutrality

By  |  June 20, 2014

The fate of net neutrality remains in limbo as Democrats and Republicans spar over how Internet traffic should be regulated, according to reports.

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    Democrats are general looking to have the Federal Communications Commission proceed with its proposed rules that would allow major Internet service providers charge content providers for faster, priority delivery. Republicans, however, argue antitrust law should regulate the matter.

    That position was reiterated at a House Judiciary Committee hearing held Friday, where the Committee’s Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) said regulation generally harms competition. The remarks were made at hearing of the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law.

    ”Vigorous application of the antitrust laws can prevent dominant Internet service providers from discriminating against competitors’ content or engaging in anticompetitive pricing practices,” the lawmaker said.

    The FCC has so far received more than 128,000 public comments on how it should proceed regarding the issue of net neutrality, which remains a highly polarizing topic in the midst of major high-profile communications merger proposals.

    Full content: Bloomberg

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