A US federal appeals court recently ruled that, under current law, regulators have only limited power over web traffic. The decision is expected to allow Internet service companies to block or slow specific sites. Also, they can charge video sites like YouTube to deliver their content faster.
The decision is seen as a setback to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s efforts to require companies to grant web users equal access to all content, although some of that content is clogging the network.
The court ruling follows Comcast's claims that it had the right to slow its cable customers' access to a file-sharing service called BitTorrent. The ruling could reportedly prompt efforts in Congress to alter the law to give the FCC explicit authority to regulate Internet service.
It is believed that the ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit could impede the Obama administration's effort to boost Americans' access to high-speed Internet networks. The FCC will now have to review its strategy for mandating 'net neutrality', which refers to the principle that all network providers should treat all Internet content equally. An option is to reclassify broadband service as a kind of basic utility subject to strict regulation, such as telephone service. Telephone and broadband service providers have already expressed concerns over such a move.
According to media reports, the court ruling will not have any immediate impact on Internet users. This is because Comcast and other large Internet providers are not at present restricting specific types of web content.
Comcast, the US' largest cable provider, is currently seeking federal approval for its proposed acquisition of a majority stake in NBC Universal, the parent of the NBC broadcast network and a cadre of popular cable channels.
The court's ruling may affect content providers like Google, which owns the video-sharing service, YouTube. Content providers worry that Internet service companies will now ask them to pay a fee to ensure delivery of material like high-definition video that takes up a lot of network capacity.
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