The Federal Communications Commission is reportedly ready to take enforcement action against cable-TV giant Comcast for blocking Internet traffic. An investigation began after complaints from the public-interest group Free Press.
Philadelphia-based Comcast is the country’s second-largest Internet service provider, with 14.1 million subscribers.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and two Democratic commission members, Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein, have recommended action and the full commission is expected to approve. Comcast will not be fined, but it will be ordered to stop blocking or slowing peer-to-peer traffic using software like BitTorrent, clearly define how it has blocked content in the past, and publicly disclose future network-management policies.
Free Press general counsel Marvin Ammori said, “Comcast was exposed for blocking free choice on the Internet. At every turn, Comcast has denied blocking, lied to the public, and tried to avoid being held accountable. We have presented an open-and-shut case that Comcast broke the law. The FCC now appears ready to take action on behalf of consumers. This is an historic test for whether the law will protect the open Internet.”
Martin, chairman since 2005, has said ISPs should not be allowed to pick and choose content for consumers. Under Martin the FCC approved a policy statement in September 2005 that outlined a set of principles to ensure that broadband networks are “widely deployed, open, affordable and accessible to all consumers.”
The FCC was established in 1934 and is charged with regulating interstate and international communications on radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. The law was overhauled in 1996 to add the Internet.