Reply #15: Did ANYONE read post #4? The court just ruled that the FCC has no authority here.

[Atman]

This is an issue now left to Congress, to re-write the law in order to give the FCC that authority. You can petition them for anything you want, but if they don't have the authority to do anything about it, what is the point?

I'm at a "real" computer now, so I can C&P the story...read it and weep...then act in a way that might actually have an impact.

U.S. Court Curbs F.C.C. Authority on Web Traffic

By EDWARD WYATT
Published: April 6, 2010

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that regulators had limited power over Web traffic under current law. The decision will allow Internet service companies to block or slow specific sites and charge video sites like YouTube to deliver their content faster to users.

The court decision was a setback to efforts by the Federal Communications Commission to require companies to give Web users equal access to all content, even if some of that content is clogging the network.

The court ruling, which came after Comcast asserted that it had the right to slow its cable customers’ access to a file-sharing service called BitTorrent, could prompt efforts in Congress to change the law in order to give the F.C.C. explicit authority to regulate Internet service.

That could prove difficult politically, however, since some conservative Republicans philosophically oppose giving the agency more power, on the grounds that Internet providers should be able to decide what services they offer and at what price.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/technology/07net.html?ref=technology

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