Washington: Google, Skype Technologies and companies that have pressed for free flow of internet traffic suffered a setback when a court ruling undermined the government's role in overseeing the web.
In a decision on Thursday, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the Federal Communications Commission didn't have authority to regulate internet management practices by Comcast, the largest US cable company.
Backed by companies including Google, FCC officials have pushed for rules that bar network owners such as Comcast and AT&T from limiting web traffic. Regulators now will have to redouble efforts to assert control over the internet, said Christopher Libertelli, director of North America government and regulatory affairs for Skype, a provider of calling via the web.
"We're trying to set up a framework so that the government has the tools to intervene should they find conduct that harms consumers," Libertelli said. The decision puts "the internet, a critical part of American business, into a no-man's land".
Debate
Comcast's victory may intensify debate over the role network owners can play in managing information flow over the web. Companies such as Comcast have said regulators shouldn't burden them with more rules and that competition will ensure an open internet. Advocates of so-called net neutrality, including Google, Skype and Amazon.com, say web service providers can't be left to favour some kinds of traffic over others.
In the action voided by the court yesterday, the FCC had censured Comcast for blocking subscribers using peer-to-peer software often used to view videos. The FCC decision had been hailed by consumer groups as a step toward keeping web traffic free of obstruction from corporations.
The reversal "creates a dangerous situation, one where the health and the openness of the internet is being held hostage" to the behaviour of telephone and cable companies that own the wires used for internet traffic to homes and businesses, the Open Internet Coalition said in an e-mailed statement.
The FCC needs to "clarify" its power and should claim authority over internet service providers under the same rules used for telephone service, said the coalition, a Washington-based group that includes Google, owner of the world's most popular search engine; Amazon.com, the largest internet retailer; IAC/InterActive, which owns more than 50 web sites; and EBay.
Applying the regulations that govern more closely regulated phone services would give the FCC new grounds to do things like bar internet service providers from favouring certain kinds of content over others.
Net neutrality
The FCC has scheduled a comment period that ends today on net neutrality rules. The restrictions would forbid companies from favouring content they own, and from blocking or slowing rivals' services.
"The FCC is firmly committed to promoting an open internet," Jen Howard, a spokeswoman for the agency, said in an e-mailed statement.
The FCC may appeal the case, and may "seriously consider" placing internet services under the stricter regulatory classification used for phones, Andrew Lipman, a Washington- based partner in the media, telecommunications and technology practice at Bingham McCutchen, said in an interview.
"We are gratified by the court's decision," Sena Fitzmaurice, a Comcast spokeswoman, said in an e-mailed statement. "Comcast remains committed to the FCC's existing open internet principles, and we will continue to work constructively with this FCC."
Ben Scott, policy director of the advocacy group Free Press that challenged Comcast, said the decision leaves FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski "powerless to stop people from blocking websites, unless he acts to reassert his authority" under telephone rules — a step Scott said could be taken with a simple majority vote at the agency.
Such a reclassification of internet service would have "far-reaching and destructive consequences" including years of "investment-deterring uncertainty and litigation," companies including AT&T, Verizon Communications and Time Warner Cable. said in a February 22 letter to the FCC.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama supports net neutrality.
"We're committed to that and committed to providing businesses with the certainty they need as well," Gibbs said.
