FCC Looks At Net Neutrality

The head of the Federal Communications Commission is pushing ahead with a plan to prohibit broadband providers from blocking or discriminating against Internet traffic flowing over their networks.

The plan requires phone and cable companies to let broadband subscribers access all legal online content, applications and services over their networks. But it gives them flexibility to deal with spam and network congestion, as long as they publicly disclose network management practices.

It’s unclear how the FCC chairman’s fellow Democrats on the commission will vote on the proposal later this month. After that, the plan is bound to face opposition from Republicans who say it amounts to unnecessary regulation.