FCC Net Neutrality Decision - What does it all mean?

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The court decision that saw the FCC lose has wider implications for the future of the Internet. The court ruled that the FCC did not have authorization to pursue its net neutrality agenda, and this could affect everything from Internet speeds to piracy.

The net neutrality issue is a complicated one, made more so by the fact that there aren't too many real world examples of the good and bad of the policy. What is means in a nutshell is whether service providers can impose artificial limits on Internet usage, whether they can created "premium" channels and created tiered Internet access, throttling speeds for those not paying enough, and also deploy technology to slow down traffic that may be seen as supporting online piracy.

Proponents of net neutrality believe that providers do not have the right to do any of the above, that the Internet should be open and free from control from service providers. The Internet, up to this point, has mostly entertained the net neutrality principle, not favouring one type of content over another, although some providers have started throttling P2P traffic in order to decrease usage on their networks.

Opponents say net neutrality is the government coming in to regulate the Internet, saying the market will always know what is best and that they should have the freedom to mold their product if needed. Movie studios are also in support of opponents of net neutrality, as this allows for certain techniques to be used in their fight against online piracy, such as throttling P2P usage. But they are also concerned that service providers may make deals with competing studios to offer content in their premium channels, while making other studios' content and services less attractive artificially.

The studios are also keen to get the FCC on their side in the fight against online piracy, and so are not keen to openly celebrate this particular FCC loss.

"The market knows best" has been the principle behind the recent Wall Street troubles, and some say that businesses often doesn't know what's best for the market, only what's best for themselves. And this is the fear that supporters of net neutrality has, that ISPs will start messing with the formula that has made the Internet a success, and individuals and small organisations will see their the power to publish diminish when ISPs make deals with large corporations that have the ability pay to get preferential treatment for their content.

More:

http://www.thewrap.com/article/fcc-c...d-piracy-16086