Net Neutrality Bill Reappears in House

Two House representatives are reviving the fight to legislate net neutrality rules.

John Conyers, D-Mich., and Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., on Thursday introduced the Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2008. Conyers serves as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

The bill would require ISPs to interconnect with other network providers on a reasonable and nondiscriminatory basis, according to the text. It also would require ISPs to treat all content, applications and services equally.

"Americans have come to expect the Internet to be open to everyone," said Conyers. "The Internet was designed without centralized control, without gatekeepers for content and services. If we allow companies with monopoly or duopoly power to control how the Internet operates, network providers could have the power to choose what content is available.”

Lofgren said recent events – presumably the allegations against Comcast Corp. for traffic throttling  – show that net neutrality is “more than a hypothetical concern.”

“We need a meaningful remedy to prevent those who control the infrastructure of the Internet from controlling the content on the Internet,” Lofgren said.

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