Net Neutrality Update

Good news-ish?

In a move that will stoke a battle over the future of the Internet, the federal government plans to propose regulating broadband lines under decades-old rules designed for traditional phone networks.

The decision, by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, is likely to trigger a vigorous lobbying battle, arraying big phone and cable companies and their allies on Capitol Hill against Silicon Valley giants and consumer advocates.

Breaking a deadlock within his agency, Mr. Genachowski is expected Thursday to outline his plan for regulating broadband lines. He wants to adopt "net neutrality" rules that require Internet providers like Comcast Corp. and AT&T Inc. to treat all traffic equally, and not to slow or block access to websites.

Yay! ...But wait, what's this?

The decision has been eagerly awaited since a federal appeals court ruling last month cast doubt on the FCC's authority over broadband lines, throwing into question Mr. Genachowski's proposal to set new rules for how Internet traffic is managed. The court ruled the FCC had overstepped when it cited Comcast in 2008 for slowing some customers' Internet traffic.

In a nod to such concerns, the FCC said in a statement that Mr. Genachowski wouldn't apply the full brunt of existing phone regulations to Internet lines and that he would set "meaningful boundaries to guard against regulatory overreach."

Hold the phone internet: Is Genachowski, "a Harvard Law School buddy of the president," trying to bipartisan this shit? Because it's either net neutrality or it isn't. Either Cromcrast can't slam me for internet use, or they can slam me within "meaningful boundaries." Let's go to the experts to figure out what's going on.

"On the surface it looks like a win for Internet companies," said Rebecca Arbogast, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus. "A lot will depend on the details of how this gets implemented."

..."The question is how heavy a hand will the regulatory touch be," [Mike McCurry, former press secretary for President Bill Clinton and co-chair of the Arts + Labs Coalition, an industry group representing technology companies, telecom companies and content providers] said. "We don't know yet, so the devil is in the details."

Well. That clears it up. Obviously the FCC will pander to corporations as much as it feels it can get away with and still assert to be championing "net neutrality." Awesome.

And the firesale of America to soulless, for-profit corporations continues unabated.

Bad news-ish, then. Sigh.