subject:"Re\: \[FRnOG\] Net neutrality"

RE: [FRnOG] Net neutrality Comcas v FCC

2010-04-07 Par sujet Giles R DeMourot

Neutralité du net et jurisdiction de la FCC

Voici le commentaire du New York Times, augmenté par rapport à celui d’hier. Il
s’agit d’un jugement d’une Cour d’Appel Fédérale. Tout recours devrait aller
devant la cour Suprême. Il s’agit d’un jugement d’importance capitale. Il ne
met pas en cause la neutralité du net en tant que telle, mais le pouvoir de la
Federal Communications Commission de la faire respecter.

April 6, 2010

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

By
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/w/edward_wyatt/index.html?inline=nyt-per
EDWARD WYATT

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
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/youtube/index.html?inline=nyt-org
YouTube to deliver their content faster to users.

The
http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/common/opinions/201004/08-1291-1238302.pdf
court decision was a setback to efforts by the
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/f/federal_communications_commission/index.html?inline=nyt-org
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
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/comcast_corporation/index.html?inline=nyt-org
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.

More broadly, the ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the District
of Columbia Circuit could raise obstacles to the Obama administration’s effort
to increase Americans’ access to high-speed Internet networks.

For example, the
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/17/technology/17broadband.html national
broadband plan released by the administration last month proposed to shift
billions of dollars in money from a fund to provide phone service in rural
areas to one that helps pay for Internet access in those areas. Legal observers
said the court decision suggested that the F.C.C. did not have the authority to
make that switch.

The F.C.C. will now have to reconsider its strategy for mandating “
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/n/net_neutrality/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier
net neutrality,” the principle that all Internet content should be treated
equally by network providers. One option would be to reclassify broadband
service as a sort of basic utility subject to strict regulation, like telephone
service. Telephone companies and broadband providers have already indicated
that they would vigorously oppose such a move.

The appeals court’s 3-0 decision, which was written by one of the court’s more
liberal members, Judge David S. Tatel, focused on the narrow issue of whether
the F.C.C. had authority to regulate Comcast’s network management practices.

But it was a clear victory for those who favor limiting the F.C.C.’s regulation
of the Internet, said Phil Kerpen, a vice president at Americans for
Prosperity, a group that advocates limited government. “The F.C.C. has no legal
basis for imposing its dystopian regulatory vision under the net neutrality
banner,” he said.

As a practical matter, the court ruling will not have any immediate impact on
Internet users, since Comcast and other large Internet providers are not
currently restricting specific types of Web content and have no plans to do so.

Comcast, the nation’s largest cable provider, had a muted reaction to its
victory. The company said it was gratified by the court’s decision but added
that it had changed the management policies that led it to restrict access to
BitTorrent, a service used to exchange a range of large data files, from
pirated movies to complex software programs.

“Comcast remains committed to the F.C.C.’s existing open Internet principles,
and we will continue to work constructively with this F.C.C. as it determines
how best to increase broadband adoption and preserve an open and vibrant
Internet,” Comcast said in a statement.

The company is currently seeking federal approval for its proposed acquisition
of a majority stake in
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/nbc_universal/index.html?inline=nyt-org
NBC Universal, the parent of the

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