Andre Yoskowitz
27 Jul 2008 17:31
Two weeks ago we reported that the FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin was recommending that the ISP Comcast be punished for violating net neutrality laws.
It appears now that most members of the FCC have voted in favor of Mr. Martin's proposal and that Comcast will be facing some sort of punishment soon.
Comcast is the United States' largest cable company but has been in the news over the last year for violating net neutrality laws by throttling BitTorrent traffic and not allowing its users free access to the Internet.
Three out of the five commissioners have already voted in favor of the punishment, which is obviously a majority. However, the remaining two commissioners still need to vote for the decision to be final. That should be completed by August 1st.
Chairman Martin did note however that any punishment would not include a fine. It will most likely "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," Martin said today. "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."