Advanced Television

US lawmakers defy FCC Internet rules

February 18, 2011

The US House of Representatives has voted to overturn the FCC’s proposed rules barring ISPs from blocking legal content but do allow certain rationing of downloading.

The vote would block funds to implement rules proposed by the Federal Communications Commission in December. The measure had been added as an amendment to a sweeping spending bill that will fund the government for the rest of the current fiscal year.

Republican Representative Steve Scalise said the rule would stand in the way of innovation and kill jobs. “We think the FCC overstepped their boundaries,” he said. “This is something that should be done and solved in the halls of Congress.”

In December, the FCC voted 3-2 to ban Internet service providers from blocking traffic but gave them some discretion to ration access and manage their networks.

Categories: Articles, Broadband, Content, Piracy, Policy, Regulation