Net neutrality bill not needed, FCC chief says

WASHINGTON – Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said Tuesday his agency has all the authority it needs to prevent Internet service providers from discriminating against Web surfers and that new legislation is unnecessary.

“I do not believe any additional regulations are needed at this time,” Martin said at a hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee. “But I also believe that the commission has a responsibility to enforce the principles that it has already adopted.”

The FCC has conducted two hearings on “network management” after admissions by Comcast Corp. that it sometimes delayed file-sharing traffic for subscribers as a way to keep Web traffic flowing.

The hearing was called at a time when the issue of “network neutrality” – the principle that people should be able to go where they choose on the Internet without interference from network owners – has heated up.

Speaking for a free-flowing Internet was Patric Verrone, the president of the Writers Guild of America, West, which recently ended a 100-day strike that virtually paralyzed television production. The Internet was a valuable organizing tool for the writers, he said in an interview.

“When your employers are the same companies that control the media, it’s hard to get your message out,” Verrone said.

To maintain contact with one another, guild members used blog postings, e-mail and videos. It was the success of that campaign that prompted Verrone to come to Washington and push for legislation that he hopes will guarantee the Internet’s status as an open forum for communication.

Verrone, a television writer and producer for over 20 years, supports legislation proposed by Sens. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., that would force those who control Internet service to treat all traffic equally.

Large network owners such as cable and telecommunications companies are opposed to network neutrality legislation, saying it would add a layer of regulation that will hurt consumers. They say it is unnecessary and amounts to a solution in search of a problem.

Kyle McSlarrow, president and CEO of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, described the picture painted by pro-net neutrality commenters as “a complete fantasy.”