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Net Neutrality Bill Passes House CommitteeThe House Judiciary Committee sent to the full House May 25 a bill that would forbid internet service providers from charging higher fees to providers of bandwidth-intensive data files for access to high-speed connections. The Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2006, introduced May 18 by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), passed out of committee by a vote of 20–13. H.R. 5417 had the support of all 14 Democrats and six of the 19 Republicans on the committee.The American Library Association’s Washington Office supports the concept of net-neutrality legislation, although it has backed H.R. 5273, the Net Neutrality Act of 2006, one of some half-dozen bills introduced this year regarding the issue. ALA’s online advocacy website notes that while at present it is “not more difficult to access one website than another,” libraries and other information disseminators and content creators “could be blocked from digital-age benefits and innovations” if legislators were to allow “favored access to some content providers for an added fee.” “An antitrust remedy is clearly needed,” said Judiciary Committee Chair Sensenbrenner about his support for H.R. 5417, according to a May 26 Bloomberg News report. “The internet has revolutionized the way Americans communicate with one another and do business. It’s only right to keep that revolution where it belongs—in the hands of internet users instead of the phone and cable companies,” said bill cosponsor Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) in a May 26 posting to the website of the Save the Internet coalition, of which ALA is a member. The online Cnet news service reported May 25 that some committee members okayed the bill in the hopes of blocking full House consideration of the competing Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement (COPE) Act, H.R. 5252, which would place “exclusive authority” to investigate violations of net neutrality with the Federal Communications Commission. COPE has been referred to the Energy and Commerce Committee. After the Judiciary Committee vote, AT&T Executive Vice President for Federal Relations Tim McKone said in a statement that the Sensenbrenner bill was “an attempt to solve a problem that does not exist,” and urged Congress to “instead focus on bringing choice to consumers by passing video choice legislation.” Posted May 26, 2006. |
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