WASHINGTON -The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has warned the federal government that laws requiring providers of high-speed Internet service to treat all content equally would stifle innovation.
"This report recommends that policymakers proceed with caution in the evolving, dynamic industry of broadband Internet access, which generally is moving toward more - not less - competition," FTC chairman Deborah Majoras said in announcing the availability of a network neutrality report completed in late June.
Internet companies including Google Inc. and eBay Inc. support net neutrality proposals that are designed to block Internet service providers from imposing extra fees to prioritize content or guarantee access. The companies worry that high-speed providers like AT&T and Verizon, who welcomed the FTC's report, will overcharge in order for them to gain access to consumers and make it more difficult for their clients to view content for which a "priority fee" has not been paid.
Regulators at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and members of Congress have been studying the net neutrality issue with an eye to regulating the behavior of high-speed service providers. Several net neutrality bills failed in Congress last session.
"Basically, one side says that they should be able to charge the content providers (websites) for preferential high-speed access to their networks. The other side says they should only charge customers higher prices if they use higher bandwidth. The issue boils down to who gets charged for the traffic," explained Jim McAnally, owner of Oprano and a consultant for video-on-demand company AEBN.
McAnally said he sees the FTC's announcement negatively affecting his business. He said he worries there are no watchdogs for the high-speed service providers, and "that is a license for them potentially to gouge."
