The FCC ruled last month that Comcast is unlawfully interfering with its customers web traffic, specifically peer-to-peer file sharing. Electronic Frontier Foundation and The Associated Press did file sharing tests and noticed that they were being reset; the internet provider was in effect, blocking the file sharing, which violates the FCC’s 2005 policy statement to “enforce an open ‘Net, and to make sure that network providers don’t block or degrade Internet traffic or applications,” writes Brad Reed at Network World. Comcast maintains that they don’t block file sharing, but rather, manage their network traffic to ensure high speeds for all, as in heavy users hogging bandwidth during peak times.

The FCC decision was not unanimous. 2 out of the 5 commissioners dissented from the recommendations. The dissenting voices believe that the rules set forward are worded vaguely and under the current policy, Comcast might be acting lawfully. Of course, the waters get murky around BitTorrent specifically. The likelihood that folks are sharing copyrighted material is high, and the files are large, so if Comcast wants to discourage unlawful file sharing, BitTorrent is probably a good place to start.

All of the major nonprofits that are concerned with the net neutrality issue are lauding the FCC decision as a big step toward maintaining an open internet, where we have access to everything the net has to offer vs. having our experience guided by the deals and products our service providers want to push to us. I’m personally only cautiously optimistic, as the policy wording does read as vague. That was probably so as to not over-regulate, and as Reed’s article point out, this decision could be Chairman Kevin Martin’s way of drawing a line in the sand. 

Read more from Public Knowledge

Read more from Free Press

Read more from Save the Internet