Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Julius Genachowski was successful in getting the FCC to unanimously agree to begin the process of formalizing the existing Net Neutrality Guidelines (adopted by the FCC in 2005). Republican Commissioners, however, stressed they were approving the process only and not necessarily the end result.
Republicans on Capitol Hill were less generous, immediately introducing legislation to stop the process altogether. While the fight is led by Senator McCain who is one of the largest recipients of telecomm and cable industry contributions, there are a number of Democrats who also have received substantial contributions who might be reluctant to back Genachowski.
At the same time, Comcast is moving forward with its appeal of the FCC’s 2008 decision that it violated the neutrality guidelines in throttling users visiting peer-to-peer sites.
More info: Ars Technica article on pending legislation; Real Time Investigations’ overview of major recipients of telecomm contributions, Online Media Daily’s discussion of Comcast appeal and ILC’s Net Neutrality Timeline and Overview presentation (21 slides).
Cyber Report 