A U.S. federal appeals court ruled on 6 April that regulators had limited power over Web traffic under current law. Argued on 8 January 2010, the ruling on the Comcast vs. the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will allow Internet service companies to block or slow specific sites and charge video sites to deliver faster content to users.
The court ruling, which came after Comcast asserted that it had the right to slow its cable customers’ access to a file-sharing service called BitTorrent, could prompt efforts in Congress to change the law in order to give the FCC explicit authority to regulate Internet service.
The court decision was a setback to efforts by the Federal Communications Commission to require companies to give Web users equal access to all content (Network Neutrality), even if some of that content is clogging the network. The issue of Net Neutrality is of concern to many information organizations.
Read New York Times article: U.S. Court Curbs F.C.C. Authority on Web Traffic
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