The majority of members of the Federal Communications Commission have cast votes in favor of punishing Comcast (News - Alert) for blocking subscribers' Internet traffic, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, was accused of violating agency principles that guarantee customers open access to the Internet. Three of the five commissioners have voted in favor of an order reaching agreement with the finding. But the decision will not be final until all five members have cast their votes.

 

The potentially precedent-setting move stems from a complaint against Comcast that the company had blocked Peer-to-Peer Internet traffic among users -- a common software used to share files. The complaint was earlier filed by “Free Press”, a national nonpartisan organization working for media reform. Though the text of the order is not public, Kevin Martin, one of the commissioners, has said it will not include a fine. He also said it will require Comcast to stop its practice of blocking; provide details to the commission on the extent and manner in which the practice has been used; and to disclose to consumers details on future plans for managing its network going forward.

 

"I continue to believe that is imperative that all consumers have unfettered access to the Internet," said Martin. "I am pleased that a majority has agreed that the Commission both has the authority to and in fact will stop broadband service providers when they block or interfere with subscribers' access."

Free Press general counsel Marvin Ammori said: "This vote reflects the bipartisan support for protecting consumers' access to the free and open Internet. Comcast's blocking is a flagrant violation of the online rights established by the FCC (News - Alert). If adopted, this order would send a strong signal to the marketplace that arbitrarily interfering with users' online choices is not acceptable."

 

Comcast spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice in a statement released Friday night said the company's network management practices are "reasonable, wholly consistent with industry practices and that we did not block access to Web sites or online applications, including peer-to-peer services."

Meanwhile, Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI), a public policy organization, has said that this is a dangerous precedent for government regulation of private networks.

 

Bartlett Cleland, director of the IPI Center for Technology Freedom, says the issue is not simply a debate about the reach of the FCC, but about government intrusion and control over private property. In comments filed with the FCC in February of this year, IPI stated that private network companies must have the liberty to manage their networks and experiment with their own business models and no regulatory prohibition against network management practices should be considered.

 

"This intrusion into the network management practices of a broadband provider may prove to be one of the worst mistakes in communications policy history," he said. "The notion that the FCC government should have any authority to punish broadband companies without a rule in place is frightening. Private property is not, and should not be, operated for the good of anyone other than the owners -- organizations that do not satisfy their customers will lose in the marketplace as others move in to take advantage of the opportunity," said Cleland.

 

Net Neutrality activists who are celebrating the victory are claiming that this is only one round of a long drawn battle for free and open internet. The FCC is expected to release a formal decision in its meeting on August 1.